EarthClan - The Eighth Warrior
by Yoshachu Scorchachu
Summary: Hope the kittypet has left her home to join a band of wild cats in the mountain. Now an EarthClan apprentice with a new name, Heatherpaw must uncover the truths to the origin of a vicious rogue and saddened loner, the disappearances of Fuzzystar's mate and kits, the massive falling out between two brothers, and the meaning of a new prophecy.
1. Allegiances

**EARTHCLAN**

 **Leader**

Fuzzystar - Broad fluffy white tom with light amber eyes

 **Deputy**

Sharpstrike - Battle-scarred dark gray lithe she-cat with pale yellow eyes (Apprentice, Shinepaw)

 **Medicine Cat(s)**

Dewcloud - Brown speckled she-cat with amber eyes

 **Warriors**

Fireleap - Fire-colored tortoiseshell tom with green eyes

Webpounce - Gray lithe she-cat with pale blue eyes

Bluestorm - Grayish blue tom with blue eyes; one eye is blind (Apprentice, Heatherpaw)

Redheart - Ginger-and-white tom with amber eyes (Apprentice, Lizardpaw)

Flashfall - Fluffy black-and-white tom with blue eyes

Littleshade - Small white and black-speckled tom with light blue eyes

 **Apprentices**

Lizardpaw - Light brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Shinepaw - Fluffy light gray she-cat with blue eyes

Heatherpaw - Sandy-colored she-cat with amber eyes; formerly a kittypet

 **Elders**

Shellpelt - Tortoiseshell tom with many battle scars and yellow eyes; the oldest cat in EarthClan

Darkflame - Dark amber tabby she-cat with amber eyes

 **CATS OUTSIDE CLAN**

Tabby - Dark tabby tom with piercing amber eyes and long, sharp claws

Queen - Fluffy sandy-colored she-cat with green eyes


	2. Prologue: The First Warrior

Endless sheets of snow raged through the forest, coating everything white. The moon had risen, yet the thick gray clouds above blocked out its silver light, darkening the forest, the snow appearing dark as soot. All prey had hidden in their dens and burrows, not daring to emerge into the blizzard no matter how hungry they were.

A small shape slowly trudged through the thick frozen blanket of darkened white. A house cat kitten, her light ginger fur turning white by the chilled winds, shivered uncontrollably as she pushed through the forest. The little bell attached to her collar was clogged with the frozen flakes, and it didn't ring whenever the she-cat stumbled over buried rocks or roots.

The house cat was lost. She had wandered too far from her house folk and was now caught in the unforgiving winds of ice and snow. With one pitiful mewl after another, she tried desperately to call out to her house folk, but the roaring wind drowned out her cries.

She was cold, hungry, and scared. Above all else, however, she was sleepy. The frigid air rapidly cooled down her body temperature, and she found it harder to keep her eyes open. She didn't want to fall asleep, for she knew she just may never wake back up if she did.

But the house cat could barely resist the urge to curl up in the snow and rest. Her entire body slowly grew numb to the coldness swirling around her, and with one last feeble mewl she confirmed no one was coming to rescue her. Whimpering and shivering intensely, she finally gave in to her exhaustion and slumped into the snow. Her dark amber eyes began to slowly close. She already began to feel warm again. It wouldn't be long now...

A high-pitched yowl barely audible through the howling winds caught her attention, and her eyes flew open. Her frozen ears perked as she listened in desperation for the same cry to call out.

It sounded again, a little closer this time. It was another cat! She felt dizzy with relief.

The house cat threw back her head to squeal and whimper as loudly as her shuddering, breathless body would let her, and it seemed to have caught the attention of the approaching cat. The yowling from the other grew more urgent, and after what felt like moons to the lost house cat she saw a silhouette in the distance through all the blowing snow.

Once the other cat came close enough, she could see it was a tom, nearly the same age she was. He had light blonde fur, which looked white through the frozen flakes and darkness, and his green eyes sparked with fear and relief once he saw her.

The she-cat slumped back into the snow and waited as the tom approached.

"Hey!" the other kitten called through the loud snowstorm."Get up! Get up or you'll freeze!"

The house cat barely had enough strength to fulfill the demand, but she tried anyway. She clambered to her now numb paws and squeaked softly as a new gust of wind blew stinging flakes in her face.

The tom finally caught up to her, and he nuzzled her towards the way he had originally came. "Come on! We have to get out of this blizzard! My mom's already going to kill me if she finds out I'm out here without a patrol!"

The house cat began to stumble forward, and after a few trips the tom nuzzled his shoulder under hers, helping her walk through the snow.

"You're going to be okay now," the tom promised. "I'm going to get you back to camp and warm you up."

"Th-Thanks," the she-cat could barely mutter.

"Howdy, I'm Goldenpaw," the tom continued, his eyes beginning to sparkle. "What's your name?"

The she-cat whimpered her name, nearly drowned out by the howling storm.

Goldenpaw's eyes glowed. "That's a nice name."


	3. Chapter 1: Kill or Be Killed World

Cold sunlight flitted through the window and stretched across the cold kitchen floor. Hope stretched her jaws out in a yawn and rose to her paws to stretch out each leg until they trembled. She blinked her amber eyes until they adjusted to the growing light. Hope climbed out of her soft bed and padded across the room where two silver dishes sat. She sniffed the murky water and stale dry food that her owner had refilled the night before and wrinkled her nose, then turned away. She had always preferred rainwater and the neighbor's wet food anyway, even if the food was tasted nearly as bad.

Hope slipped through the flimsy white flap on the front door, wincing as her pink collar caught on the corner of the flap and tightened against her throat. She tugged herself free and coughed, shaking her head to loosen the collar a little. It still scraped uncomfortably against her neck, but at least she could breathe again.

It was the cold season. A fresh blanket of fluffy white snow draped over the garden and fence. Small songbirds whistled as they fluttered near the tall stone structure that held water for the birds to bathe in. Of course, with how cold the outside world was now, they seemed to have enough mind not to splash around in the freezing cold water. Instead, they dipped their tiny sharp beaks in and drank.

Hope licked her lips, her tongue feeling drier than dead leaves during the hot season. She bounded over to the structure and leaped up, startling the birds and sending them flying away. Instinctively, Hope swiped out a paw, claws unsheathed, hoping to catch one of the fleeing birds, but all she caught in her paw was cold air. Hissing in irritation, she turned her attention to the water instead and lapped up the cold drink. Refreshed and content, she leaped back down into the snow.

She made her way to the white fence, barely distinguishable against the snow, and leaped up to balance on the edge. Crouching down into a comfortable position, Hope stared out into the forest. Most of the trees had lost their leaves, and the few evergreens in the distance had their green needles covered by the frozen flakes.

Hope closed her eyes and parted her jaws, drinking in the scents of the forest and the cold mountain beyond. Living as a house cat was decent; it had its advantages against the cold and the heat, as well as limitless supplies of food and water. However, she had always felt out of place in the enclosed walls and nicely kempt gardens. Hope felt like she didn't belong here as a house cat, but rather out there as a wild cat.

Hope bundled up her muscles and prepared to leap down onto the ground on the other side of the fence.

"Hope!" A familiar voice stopped Hope from jumping. She raised her head and looked down in the garden to find two young she-cats staring up at her, one fluffy and gray and the other black-and-white.

Hope stifled a sigh and turned to leap down next to her friends. "Hi, Pompom. Hi, Clover."

"I hope you weren't looking to go back into the forest again," the gray cat, Pompom, meowed.

Hope shook herself to get rid of the snowflakes that clumped to her sandy-colored fur when she landed. "Of course I was."

"You've been going out there a lot lately," Clover commented.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Don't you know that cats that live with her owner is supposed to _stay_ with her owner?" Pompom's amber eyes narrowed.

Hope snorted with a roll of her eyes. She was getting very tired of hearing her friend recite her favorite saying over and over again.

"Besides," Pompom continued, "you can't go out there, not when there are cats who want you to stay here. And we're not talking about just us."

"You'd better not be talking about Musket," Hope growled with a flick of her tail-tip. "That arrogant furball just likes bossing the she-cats around. The only reason he'd miss me would be because he'd have one less cat to do his bidding."

Pompom and Clover exchanged a look, and it was Clover who spoke. "You really don't get it, do you?"

"What?" Hope meowed.

"Musket _likes_ you, silly!" Pompom purred. "You've always been so blind to love."

Hope felt like she was going to be sick. She took a tentative step back. "You two can't be serious! Musket likes _me_? Why me? He's already been to the vet, it's not like we'd ever have kits together. I don't even want to have kits, especially with someone like him."

Suddenly, a familiar scent - and one she was hoping not to attract at all - caught Hope's attention, and she looked up to see a mangy gray-and-white tabby with white legs resting on the fence behind her. She hadn't even noticed him approaching.

"Hello, there, my pretties," Musket greeted in a raspy voice. He climbed to his paws and landed on the ground next to Hope, pressing his side against her's. The sandy-colored she-cat stepped away and went to stand in between Pompom and Clover, eyes narrowed and nose wrinkled. Why was it his owners didn't think to care for him nearly as well as Hope's cared for her. She could also smell something sour on him, like an infected wound, but it was tucked away out of sight.

"You don't smell too good," Hope grunted, turning her head away and burying her muzzle into Clover's shoulder.

"Oh, well, you know…" Musket rasped with a smug expression, stepping towards her. "I wasn't doing anything special, really. Just trying to catch a squirrel out in the forest. It was a nasty little thing. Squirrels can be pretty dangerous after all."

"You got attacked by prey?" Hope narrowed her eyes. This stupid cat was trying to sound like he'd accomplished a great feat, but in reality she couldn't help but pity the old fool. Was he so neglected and malnourished that he couldn't even catch a squirrel?

Frustration swelled up within her when she heard her two friends purring, clearly impressed.

"Wow, Musket, you're so brave to take on that squirrel all by yourself," Pompom meowed.

"Yeah, I could never do anything like that," Clover added. Her green eyes darkened in worry. "Though, shouldn't you have your owner take a look at your wound?"

"I don't need any Twoleg taking care of me," the tabby sniffed. "I'm strong enough to withstand the pain. Now, why don't you two go on your merry way and leave me to have some alone time with little Hopey?" He reached out his muzzle to touch noses with Hope's, but his foul breath caused her to duck away.

"I told you not to call me that, Musket," she growled, her hackles beginning to rise. "And I was planning on spending the day with my friends this time. So, as much as I appreciate the offer, I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

"Come on, now, Hopey, don't be so difficult," Musket pressed on, leaping in front of the she-cat before she could walk away. "I know you're just trying to play hard to get, but you don't need to around me. I already know how you feel about me?"

Hope's jaw dropped in disbelief. How dare this arrogant, filthy cat? "Are you kidding me? I don't feel anything for you!"

"But of course you do," Musket croaked, pressing his pelt against her's. Hope winced when she felt something warm and wet beginning to seep into her fur, guessing she was pressed against the hidden wound. "Why else would you constantly be looking out for me?"

"So that I'll know when I need to hide from you," Hope snarled.

Pompom and Clover exchanged a worried look, and the gray she-cat stepped up. "Musket, perhaps you should let Hope come spend the day with us."

"I'm sorry, did I ask for your input?" Musket lashed out an outstretched paw to thwack the she-cat on the side of her head, sending her sprawled against the ground with a squeak of pain. "Now why don't you and your little friend go make yourselves useful and find me some breakfast?"

"But, we don't know how to hunt," Clover fretted.

"Then learn how! And don't come back until you've found something juicy."

Hope bared her teeth and raised her hackles. _This has gone on far enough!_ She slashed out her claws and raked them against Musket's side, causing him to yowl in surprise. When he whipped around to face her, eyes wide, she battered his muzzle with both paws, claws outstretched. With a hiss, the tabby leaped out of reach, and Hope fell back on all fours.

"You leave my friends alone!" she yowled. "They are not your inferiors! They are cats just like you are, and you need to show them more respect for what they do for you! If you think I'd ever allow myself to be with an abusive cat like you, you're even stupider than I thought, and _that's_ saying something!"

Musket stared at Hope as if she had suddenly grown a second head. Suddenly, his eyes darkened and a low growl rose in his throat. He lashed out a paw and raked Hope across the muzzle, then leaped forward and dug his teeth into her left shoulder. Hope screeched in agony as she felt his fangs scraping against bone, and she struggled to wrench herself free.

Musket shoved her to the ground and dug his claws deeper and deeper into her fur until they pierced through her skin, keeping his grip on her shoulder with his jaws. Hope thrashed in the snow, sending white clumps of frost in all directions.

"Musket, stop!" Pompom wailed, trying to drag him off her friend. She was knocked back to the ground with a powerful blow of his paw to her head, and she lay stunned in the snow.

With Musket's attention divided, Hope managed to twist herself free, little scarlet droplets staining the snow underpaw. She gave Musket one last thwack to the muzzle with a paw, then turned to her friends and yowled, "Run!" before hurtling herself over the fence and fleeing into the forest.

She looked over her shoulder and felt her blood run cold when she saw Musket in pursuit, his lips curled to reveal yellow, broken teeth. At the very least, this meant Pompom and Clover had the chance to get away, but now Hope was in deep trouble. She'd be as good as dead if Musket caught up to her.

Hope veered through the tangle of trees and bushes, trying to shake the furious tabby off her trail. She spotted a lump of snow up ahead and broke into a sprint, her muscles screaming for her to stop. She launched herself over the lump and quickly backed up into the large bush, holding her breath to quiet her heavy breathing, which only strained her lungs as the run left her breathless. She stared wide-eyed as Musket leaped over the bush, and for a heartbeat she thought she was going to be found hiding under the bush. But, to her relief, the tabby kept on running, obviously unable to pick up on her scent.

Hope quickly slipped out from under the bush and bolted off in the other direction. She wanted to get away from Musket as quickly as possible, but she also knew she couldn't go back to her friends. What if Musket made his way back and waited for her to return?

The sandy-colored she-cat pushed herself until she just couldn't run anymore. She collapsed in the snow, the flakes clogging up her lungs as she tried to gulp in air. She struggled back to her paws, her legs trembling beneath her, and hunched as she took a few moments to catch her breath and slow her heartbeat, pulsing rapidly in fear and exertion.

When her breathing and heart beat returned to their normal tempo, Hope allowed herself to collapse back into the snow, exhaustion washing over her. She closed her eyes and let out a relieved sigh, but as grateful as she was that she was able to escape the vicious tabby, she also felt sadness grip her like Musket's claws. She knew she could never go back unless she were to face Musket again, and she didn't have the time to bid her friends goodbye. She may never be able to see them again.

A sudden cat scent caught Hope's attention, and her ears perked up at the sound of crunching snow and rustling leaves. A bush a few tail-lengths away from her was quivering, and she could see a pair of black ears and a long, lithe tail poking out from behind it. She shot up in a sitting position and gulped nervously. "Wh-Who's there?"

"Don't worry, little one," a deep voice spoke from behind the bush. A large dark tabby tom padded out from behind, his muscles rippling beneath his pelt, his bright yellow eyes shining intensely as he stared at the young she-cat. "Howdy. I'm Tabby."

"Tabby? Tabby the tabby?" Hope narrowed her eyes with a confused tilt of her head.

"At least no cat will be able to forget my name in a hurry," Tabby purred with a shrug. "What's your name?"

"Um, I'm Hope."

"Well, then, Hope," the tabby tom meowed, sitting down in front of the she-cat, towering over her. "What's a sweet little kitten like you doing out here in the big, bad forest?"

Hope's eyes glistened with sadness, and she stared down at her paws. "There's this stupid cat who thinks he can boss all the she-cats around. He attacked my friend, so I tried to fight him back, but I ended up being chased out here. Now I can't go back. He'll be there waiting for me to return, I just know it."

"I see," Tabby sighed sympathetically. "You were trying to defend yourself and your friend from an arrogant tom, and the price for your courage was exile. I'm truly sorry, little one. However…" His gaze suddenly hardened. "You can't stay out here. This forest is filled with foxes and badgers what would make a quick meal out of a soft kittypet like you."

Hope blinked up at Tabby curiously. "Kittypet? What's a kittypet?"

"It's what you are: a cat who lives with Twolegs. You know, those tall hairless creatures that walk around on their hind legs."

"You said the forest is dangerous," Hope meowed. She looked past the massive cat through the trees at the towering mountain. "What if I were to escape to the mountain instead? I could teach myself how to hunt, and I'm sure there are caves up there that could shelter me."

"The mountain's even worse," Tabby growled. "Up there on the peak live vicious wild cats, even fiercer than that cat who chased you off. There's no way they'd want to share their territory with an outsider. Believe me, I've tried. They're not welcoming at all."

But Hope wasn't entirely listening to the older cat's warning. She stared up at the mountain's snowy peak, ears perked with interest. Perhaps that could be her answer right there. She could find a way to let the wild cats invite her, and they could teach her how to hunt and defend herself from cats like Musket.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Tabby grunted, snapping the sandy-colored cat back to attention. "I said forget it. Those cats won't accept you."

"I could try," Hope insisted. "If I tell them I was able to fight Musket when he attacked my friend, maybe they'll see potential in me and let me join them."

"Didn't you just say you were chased off by this Musket cat?" the tabby cat sniffed, his eyes narrowing. "What makes you think they'd let you join once they find that part out?"

"Who says they need to?" Her mother had always taught her never to lie about something you've never done, but Hope knew that if she didn't fib about her capabilities, she'd lose her chance to join these cats. She fixed Tabby with a hard, determined glare. "I'll find a way to let those cats accept me as one of their own. I have to at least try. Thank you for telling me where I can find the wild cats, Tabby." She dipped her head politely and began walking in the direction to the mountain.

She was instantly halted when Tabby blocked her path. His gaze was no longer friendly or concerned or even stern. Instead, they glowed with malice. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"But I have to try, can't you see? Please let me pass. I can't go back to my old home."

"Don't worry, you won't be going anywhere ever again." Tabby let out a ferocious yowl and pounced at Hope, expertly scoring his thorn-sharp claws across her flank. Hope wailed in agony and fell to the ground on her side, twitching and whimpering as she felt warm blood trickle down her belly and back and turning the white snow below her red. She stared up in confused fear at Tabby as he towered over him, a sneer on his face.

"You really are an idiot," Tabby growled lowly. "In this world, it's kill or be killed. I'm just doing you a favor." He swung his blood-stained paw up in the air, claws unsheathed, aiming for her throat to make the killing blow. Hope shut her eyes tight and whimpered.

A different yowl rang nearby, and Hope opened her eyes just in time to see Tabby being tackled away from her by a different cat. She winced and rolled over on her back to see Tabby arching his back at the newcomer. The second cat was a she-cat. She had beautiful well-groomed pale yellow fur and blazing emerald green eyes. She rose herself up on her hind legs and hissed, claws at the ready.

Tabby was the first cat to make a move. He launched himself at the she-cat's exposed underbelly, but seconds before he struck she slammed her forepaws down against his spine, knocking him into the snow. She caught the tom's lashing tail in her jaws and bit down hard. Tabby yowled in pain and fury and he tore his tail free from the she-cat's grip, blood splashing against the snow as it lashed.

The tabby tom twisted underneath the she-cat and pummeled her chest with his hind paws, making her yelp, and she leaped back before he could gnash his teeth into her leg. Whipping back up on all four paws and sending snow flying, Tabby slashed out his claws at her muzzle, but she ducked down and dived underneath him, flipping over onto her back faster than Hope could witness and kicking out her hind legs into his belly, flipping him over and sending him crashing down on his back.

The she-cat flipped back onto her feet and glanced at Hope with urgency flashing in her eyes. "Run!" she cried, just before Tabby leaped onto her back and dug his teeth into the scruff of her neck.

Whimpering, Hope struggled to her paws, gritting her teeth at the pain in her side that also reignited the bite mark in her shoulder, and she ran off as quickly as her wounds would allow her. She looked back just in time to see the she-cat twisting her head to clamp down on Tabby's paw, and Hope winced at the horrible screech the tom emitted.

Deciding to focus on fleeing, Hope turned her attention back to the path ahead of her, hobbling quickly through the snow, practically running on three paws as the pain in her side and shoulder left her left foreleg out of commission. It wasn't long before she heard the rapid crunching of snow behind her, and fear sparked within her, thinking Tabby was chasing after her. However, when she looked back she was relieved to see the she-cat racing towards her instead.

"You must hurry!" she hissed. "That vicious cat won't stay down for long!"

With the she-cat's help, Hope raced through the forest until they came up to a small den in the ground. The pale cat gently muzzled Hope into the den and leaped in after her, but not before scooping up piles of snow with her paws to block the hole.

The den was much larger that it appeared to be from the outside. There was plenty of room inside, and there was already a nest made in the back, lined with moss. There were also a few strange-looking plants tucked into crevices and behind roots jutting out from the walls, and a half-eaten mouse lay on the den floor in front of the nest.

"Are you okay, my kit?" the she-cat meowed, nuzzling Hope's muzzle with her own. She quickly noticed the gash in her side and gasped. "Oh, you poor, poor thing! Don't worry, I know just what to do for that. You lay down in my nest over there, okay?"

Hope limped over to the nest and huffed with the effort to lie down in it without agonizing her wounds any further. She looked over as the she-cat sniffed through her store of plants, and finally she pulled out a few dried leaves, green leaves, and a bundle of cobweb. She settled down next to Hope and gingerly pressed the cobwebs into her side, causing her to flinch.

"You must keep still and let me help you," the she-cat meowed gently. "I promise not to hurt you."

Hope slowly nodded and settled down again, trying to get comfortable. She winced and shut her eyes tight as the older cat dabbed the cobwebs against the wound until the bleeding stopped, the sticky spider webs turning red. She shook the cobwebs off her paw and grabbed the leaves in her mouth, then began to chew on them until they turned into a thick green poultice. She gingerly licked the herbs into her wound, and while Hope found the juices to sting at first, she eventually relaxed as they began cooling and easing the pain.

"This is a poultice made up of dried oak leaves and stinging nettle leaves," the she-cat explained. "Stinging nettle leaves soothe the pain in wounds while dried oak leaves prevent infection from settling in."

Hope blinked in surprise. She had no idea common plants could be used to heal injuries. She turned her head to point her nose at her bitten shoulder. "Would you mind applying some to my shoulder, too? Another cat bit me pretty hard there, and I'm afraid it'll get infected."

The she-cat nodded and licked the rest of the poultice onto her shoulder, as well as a few scratches she found along her leg and back from where Musket dug his claws in. "There, I believe you'll be just fine now."

"Thank you so very much," Hope meowed with a grateful dip of her head. "If I may ask, what's your name?"

"My name?" the other cat echoed, looking as if she had no idea how to answer the question for a few moments. Finally, she drew her tail over her side where she lay. "You can call me Queen."

"It's nice to meet you, Queen. I'm Hope. Thank you so much for saving me from Tabby. It's so strange, though, he seemed so nice at first."

"I don't like to call cats evil, but he is most certainly far from nice," Queen mewed. "I'm just so glad I was able to save you when I did. But tell me, Hope, why are you all the way out here in the forest when you have a nice, warm home to go back to? Judging by the collar around your neck, you're a kittypet, are you not?"

"I am a kittypet, but that doesn't mean I can go back home," Hope sighed, laying her chin on her paws. "I was attacked by another cat and he chased me into the forest. I'm afraid that if I go back he'll be waiting for me there."

"Surely he's not nearly as bad as that horrible tabby cat you ran into earlier?" Queen commented. "Trust me, my kit, this forest is far too dangerous for you to live in."

"That's why I've decided to try and make it up in the mountain with the wild cats instead," the young she-cat replied. "I'm sure they'll accept me and train me to defend myself from Tabby should the occasion arise again."

Queen's green eyes widened in fear. "No! You must not go up there! Those cats are far too dangerous for you! They would tear you to shreds without giving you a chance to leave peacefully."

"How do you know? Have you tried joining them as well?"

"Let's just say… I've lived here long enough to learn some terrible tales about their habits, all of which are completely true." The older she-cat licked between Hope's ears. "You must rest now. Tomorrow, I shall bring you back to Twolegplace."

"What? No!" Hope cried, struggling to a sit. She squeaked at the pain in her side and flopped back down. "That awful Musket's going to be waiting for me when I go back! I just can't face him again!"

"Worry not, for I will teach him a lesson for harming you. Then it shall be safe for you to live there again."

"But-"

"Not another word." Queen bore her stern gaze down on Hope. "The mountain is not a safe place for you. Twolegplace is. That will be the end of it. Now rest here for the day and recover your strength. Tomorrow at dawn I will bring you back home."

Hope opened her mouth, wanting to argue again. She closed it seconds later with a sigh. She wasn't ready to go back home yet. She didn't think she would ever be ready to go back. Musket would still be a threat to her, even after Queen dealt with him. She'd never feel safe or happy ever again.

That's when an idea began to form in her head. Perhaps if she was quiet and stealthy… Yes, this plan could work perfectly. She finally nodded. "Okay, I will stay here for the day, and then tomorrow I will return back to Twolegplace."

* * *

Nighttime finally came, and Queen was deep in sleep in her nest that she shared with Hope. The young she-cat had closed her eyes and pretended to fall asleep, and it took a long while before the older cat fell into soft snoring next to her.

Throughout the day, Queen had reapplied the dried oak leaf and stinging nettle leaf poultice to her wounds, and now they barely bothered her. Dried blood caked over the scratch and bite marks, and she could finally put her weight down on her left paw. She had even been fed, Queen having gone out to hunt a couple mice for her. She had never had freshly caught forest prey before, and she knew now that she could never go back to cat food, dry or wet.

Hope carefully rose from her nest and gingerly stepped over Queen's sleeping form, stifling a sigh of relief when she managed to free herself from the tangle of fur without waking her temporary caretaker. She carefully dug through the clump of snow hiding the den, trying to keep as quiet as possible, and once the hole was large enough she slipped through and stepped outside. She carefully piled the snow back up in front of the hole to keep Queen's home hidden from any predators. _Or Tabby_ , she thought.

Hope looked up at the tall mountain, which glowed silver in the moonlight. She breathed in deeply, taking in the last scents of the forest. Eyes sparkling with determination, she began making her way through the snow towards the mountain. She was going to find these wild cats Tabby and Queen spoke of. She was going to find a way to let them accept her. She was going to learn how to hunt and defend herself.

"Thank you for all your help, Queen," Hope meowed softly, taking one last look back at the covered hole, which she didn't know where it was anymore because it was covered. "But this is something I must do. I can't live in fear and unhappiness as a kittypet anymore. I must become a wild cat."


	4. Chapter 2: Enter the Clan

Hope's muscles were burning and her lids were heavy with sleep. She had been climbing the mountain's edge since nightfall when she slipped away from Queen's nest when she was sleeping. She still felt guilty for leaving her side, especially after everything she'd done for her. What would the poor forest cat do when she woke up to find she wasn't there? Would she look for her in the mountains? Would she return to Twolegplace to see if she returned there on her own, only to be attacked by Musket?

Hope shook her head. She couldn't think about that now. As grateful as she was for the she-cat, she knew she had to leave. Twolegplace was no longer her home. She had to find a new one among the wild cats at the peak of the mountain.

The sun slowly rose over the mountaintop, bathing the stone in golden light and making the snow on the ground sparkle. Hope stopped to stretch herself out, enjoying the weak warmth after a long night of coldness. She looked up, squinting her eyes through the blinding sun. She was getting close to the top. Looking down below her, the forest was nothing more than a small clump of bare, snowy trees. She was making great progress.

Hope turned back to the path ahead of her and pulled herself up over the tall ledges, scrabbling her hind paws and raking her claws into the frozen stone whenever the snow made her slip. It would be much easier to climb without the frozen water particles, but the cold season was far from over.

Movement behind a rock up above caught her attention, and a split second later a dark figure leaped out from behind with a ferocious caterwaul. Hope squeaked and reeled back, sliding down the mountainside on her back, until she was able to right herself and dig her claws into the crevices hidden underneath the cold white blanket. Hope looked up and saw she was practically touching noses with a large tom. Muscles tensed under his thick grayish-blue fur and his brilliant blue eyes bore into hers. She quickly noticed his right eye didn't look exactly the same as his left. It looked to be clouded and unfocused.

"Who are you, and what are you doing on our territory?" the massive tom spat, rising up a paw to swipe at her muzzle. She pulled back and she felt the wind whisking past her nose as the sharp claws missed her by only a whisker.

So this must be one of the mountain wild cats Tabby and Queen spoke of. Hope saw they were both right; this cat was very aggressive and territorial. She didn't seem to have the same confidence in her ability to persuade her way into joining their ranks.

"M-My name is Hope, and I was hoping I could join you," the young she-cat stammered nervously.

The tom snorted in crude laughter. "If you think we'd ever let a _kittypet_ join us, you're even more mouse-brained than you look. Get out of here before I tear you to shreds."

The sound of a new cat's angry yowl sounded from behind, and Hope shrunk back further to find a second cat approach. This tom had fluffy white fur with dark ginger markings and amber eyes. Hope found herself whimpering like a lost kit. Where these two cats going to gang up on her?

To her surprise, the ginger-and-white cat instead turned on the first tom. "Bluestorm! What are you doing?"

"I'm defending my territory, Redheart," Bluestorm growled with a lash of his tail. "We're supposed to do that on border patrols, or have you so quickly forgotten?"

"I realize that, but you're attacking a _kit_!" Redheart shouted. "She's no older than an apprentice on their naming ceremony. And she's a kittypet no less! You should know kittypets don't pose a real threat."

"She's still trespassing, so I have to deal with her."

"I won't let you kill this defenseless cat!"

The two toms glared at each other, hackles raised and tails lashing behind them. The looked like they were about to attack each other. Hope's eyes widened and she trembled.

"That's enough, you two."

A third tom leaped down from the rocks above and pushed his way between the quarreling wild cats. He glared at both of them in turn, the tortoiseshell fur on his shoulders twitching in irritation. "You two are Clanmates, not mortal enemies. You shouldn't be fighting like this on patrol. What if we were to face a real threat? You two would be dead before either of you could say 'mouse'."

Redheart glared at Bluestorm for a few moments longer, then looked down, suddenly looking ashamed. "Sorry, Fireleap," he meowed.

Bluestorm didn't look quite as regretful as the other tom. His tail-tip flicked and turned his head away. "Sorry," he muttered, sounding less sincere.

Looking decently satisfied, Fireleap turned his attention back on Hope. He fixed her with a hard glare. "You're a long way from home, aren't you? What are you doing here?"

Despite the far gentler approach the tortoiseshell tom made than the blue one, Hope still felt uneasy. She forced herself to look him in the eye. "I was hoping to join you."

Fireleap blinked at her, giving no emotion away. "Why would that be?"

Hope gave a quick explanation on her troubles back in Twolegplace, how she was chased away by Musket and nearly killed by Tabby not too long after. "I can't go back to Twolegplace. It isn't my home anymore. I refuse to go back. I was hoping I could live here instead. I'd meet all your requirements to stay here, and I'll learn how to hunt for myself."

" _EarthClan_ cats don't hunt for themselves," Bluestorm growled with a hostile glare. "We warriors hunt first for the kits and elders. Besides, we don't need another mouth to feed. From the sound of it, you weren't able to fight either of those toms who attacked you."

Indignation flashed in Hope's eyes and she stood a little taller. "I'll have you know Musket was attacking one of my friends and I was able to give him quite a few scratches to remember me by."

"A few scratches is nothing compared to what a warrior needs to make on his enemy in battle," the blue tom hissed. "Go home and never come back, or I'll make you."

"Bluestorm, you are not the leader of this patrol, I am," Fireleap meowed sternly, shooting him a sideway glance. He turned back to Hope, compassion now shining in his eyes. "We can't send you back home. It's too dangerous for you to go all alone, and we don't have the time to escort you. You may as well come back to camp with us."

Hope's heart began to beat quicker in excitement. They were going to consider letting her join them! She didn't miss Bluestorm's eyes widening in disbelief, but he seemed to know better now than to argue with the tortoiseshell tom.

"Maybe we could even ask Fuzzystar to let her become an apprentice," Redheart meowed enthusiastically.

Bluestorm didn't seem to want to speak up to Fireleap, but he seemed to have no trouble turning on Redheart again. "Don't be ridiculous! Kittypets can't become warriors! Fuzzystar would never allow it."

"Fuzzystar is a fair leader, Bluestorm," Fireleap meowed calmly. "Until you become leader, you must leave him to make the important decisions for the Clan. In fact, why don't you go on ahead and tell him and Sharpstrike the news?"

Bluestorm's tail lashed once more and glared at Hope for a few heartbeats longer before bounding up the mountainside.

Fireleap beckoned to Hope with his tail for her to follow as he and Redheart climbed up the mountain again, keeping a slower pace to help Hope keep up with them. She blinked gratefully at them and followed.

"Bluestorm said something about an EarthClan," she mewed after a few moments of silence. "Is that what your camp is called."

"That's right," Redheart answered. "The peak of the mountain is EarthClan territory. Warriors need to patrol its borders every day and challenge any and all trespassers, hence why that mouse-brained Bluestorm attacked."

"But he was only doing his job. Why are you so sour?"

Redheart sighed and looked away. "My brother and I just can't see each other eye-to-eye on anything anymore."

Hope's eyes widened. "You and Bluestorm are brothers?"

"That's right. But ever since we were apprentices, Bluestorm became more and more distant until finally we just… lost our brotherly connection. Now we're just Clanmates, nothing more. Sometimes I wish things could go back to our days in the nursery where we'd do everything together, but I just don't feel like I can trust him anymore."

Hope frowned in pity for the ginger-and-white cat. She was the only living kit in her litter, her feeble sister too weak to survive through the night. She knew how tragic it was to lose a littermate, and knowing Bluestorm and Redheart were nearly as good as dead to one another really hit home for her, but in the worst way. If her sister had lived, she'd never have such a drastic falling out with her.

The three cats continued to climb up the mountainside, the two Clan cats helping Hope whenever she would slip. "If you are to live here with us, you must learn where to put your paws through the snow," Fireleap had instructed. Hope made sure to keep watch of where she placed her paws, and even though it took a little longer to make it up to the peak she was able to keep herself steady.

Fireleap and Redheart leaped up onto a flat surface, and Hope had to take a few tries before she was able to scramble up over the edge as well.

"Welcome to EarthClan's camp," Fireleap meowed.

Hope narrowed her eyes in confusion. Before her was a rather small cave, but there were no cats inside. "I don't understand. Where are they?"

Fireleap and Redheart exchanged amused glances. Redheart was the one who bounded into the cave and walked up to the piled snow lining the cave floor in the very back. He dug his way through the snow, and as Hope approached she saw that the cat had dug up a small hole.

"We use snow to cover up the entrance to the cave so that no enemy cats can find us easily," Redheart explained.

 _Just like what Queen did with her own home_ , Hope recalled.

"Go on in." Fireleap gave Hope's flank a gentle nudge with his muzzle towards the hole.

Trying to to tremble in apprehension, the she-cat slipped into the hole. She walked carefully down the dark tunnel leading deeper and deeper into the mountain, and she began to catch the scent of all different kinds of cats.

Finally she reached the end of the tunnel and slipped into a much large cave. There were many cats in the cave, some grooming one another and others play-fighting. There were several holes in the walls of the cave with bundles of moss poking out of each one, and she guessed those were dens that held the cats' nests. A shallow stream of clear water flowed through the center of the floor and gathered in a shallow pool that lay next to a separate den, one where a speckled brown cat was pawing through different kinds of herbs. In the very back stood a tall boulder with little cracks and crevices along the sides for climbing. Above it was yet another cave with a moss-lined nest inside. There was a rather big gap in the ceiling of the cave that allowed sunlight to filter in.

Hope's eyes lit up in awe. _This is EarthClan's camp!_

Fireleap and Redheart slipped into the cave behind her. Fireleap gave a proud swish of his tail, his chest puffing out. "This is the heart of EarthClan territory, the place where kits are raised and elders rest. We are very fortunate to have such a large cave that can fit all the cats' needs."

"It's amazing," Hope breathed.

"Come on, we'll show you around," Redheart meowed. He leaped off the ledge onto the cave floor and walked to the center, Hope bounding after him. He pointed with his tail to the different dens. "These are all the different dens for each rank of cat. The den at the highest point there is the warriors' den, and the one below it is the apprentices' den. There near the ground is the elders' den and the one on the floor there is the nursery, where queens raise their kits.

"Over there is the medicine den, the den where the water pools," Redheart continued, pointing to the den on the other side of the cave where the brown cat continued to paw at the different plants. "The cat sorting the herbs is our medicine cat, Dewcloud. She's in charge of collecting herbs used to heal different kinds of ailments."

Finally, Redheart gestured to the large boulder in the back of the cave. "The tall rock there is called the Summitrock. That's where the Clan leader makes important announcements. The cave just behind it is the leader's den. Often times whenever a leader has a mate they'll sleep in there, too."

Hope's mind began to spin. There was just so much to take in, and it was all nothing short of amazing. She perked up when she spotted two cats approaching her. One of them was a tom with fluffy black and white fur and blue eyes, and the other was a dark gray she-cat with pale blue eyes.

The she-cat gave Hope a sniff, then wrinkled her nose and stood back up. "She smells like a kittypet."

"Well, I am, but I'm hoping for that to change," Hope meowed, trying to sound friendly. "I'm Hope. Who are you two?"

"I don't think it matters," the she-cat grunted. "There's no way Fuzzystar would let a kittypet join EarthClan anyway. You'll be gone by sunset." She lifted her tail in the air and stalked away, the tom flicking his tail tip on Hope's nose as he passed by to follow.

Hope blinked in confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Don't worry, you didn't," Fireleap sighed as he walked up to her and Redheart, staring after the two cats. "The she-cat is Webpounce and the tom is Flashfall. I'm sorry if my mate and son gave you any trouble."

"They're related to you?" Hope asked with a surprised blink.

"That's right," Fireleap meowed. "Dewcloud over there is my sister, and I have three other kits: Littleshade, Lizardpaw, and Shinepaw. Littleshade and Flashfall just recently became warriors about a moon ago."

"That's so cool!" Hope turned to Redheart. "And what about you? I know Bluestorm is your brother."

Redheart's tail twitched. He pointed to the elders' den with his muzzle, looking at a dark amber tabby she-cat who sat next to a dusky brown tortoiseshell tom. "That there is my mother, Darkflame. I… I never actually knew my father."

"Oh, no, I'm so sorry to hear that," Hope sympathized.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sort of glad I don't. I was told he wasn't the most honest cat."

Three more cats approached Hope from the direction of the Summitrock, and Hope recognized one of them to be Bluestorm. The cat in the middle of the other two was massive. He had very thick snow-white fur and amber eyes, and he stood taller than the cats on either side of him. The third cat was a dark gray she-cat with pale yellow eyes and many battle scars, one scoring across her left eye and rendering it useless.

"Is this the cat you've been telling us about, Bluestorm?" the white tom asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, Fuzzystar," Bluestorn nodded. He glared at Hope again. "I was trying to tell Redheart how we don't need anymore cats."

"Are you mouse-brained?" the battle-scarred cat hissed. "The lack of prey this leaf-bare has drained our energy, and one of our elders starved to death not even half a moon ago. Besides that, most of our cats were killed off during the Territory Massacre. No queen is expecting kits and our two apprentices are stuck doing too many chores to properly train."

"But a _kittypet_?" Bluestorm retorted. "The entire reason why she came here was because she was driven out of Twolegplace! We should send her back."

"And let her be driven off again or even killed?" Redheart suddenly snapped, stepping up to his brother. "You can be a real fox-heart at times, Bluestorm!"

"That is enough," Fuzzystar grunted. All three cats ended their quarrel immediately; even Bluestorm looked intimidated by the massive tom. The leader looked down at Hope with such gentleness not expected from an intimidating cat. "I respect your courage, young kit, but do you believe you really have what it takes to be a Clan cat?"

Hope looked down at her paws, taking a few moments to think. Finally, she looked back up at the leader. "Yes, I do. I've never felt content being a kittypet to begin with, and I've always felt so out of place among my friends. I feel that perhaps becoming a Clan cat is what I was destined to do. I'll do my very best to learn your ways and hunt prey and patrol your borders."

Fuzzystar nodded and gazed down warmly at her. "You know, you actually remind me of another cat I once knew. She had that same look of determination in your eyes."

With a decisive nod to the she-cat next to him, he turned to to the tall rock and effortlessly climbed to the top, then threw his head up to make his voice echo against the cave walls. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Summitrock for a Clan meeting."

Hope watched as all around her cats began slipping out of their dens and sitting at the foot of the Summitrock, looking up expectantly at Fuzzystar. The cats all acknowledged Hope in some way, though. Some gave her curious looks while others like Webpounce and Flashfall shot hostile glares at her.

"As some of you already know," Fuzzystar began in a powerful voice, "we have a new visitor in the camp. Hope here is a kittypet, but she wishes to train to become an EarthClan warrior."

Murmurs erupted among the cats below, until one voice spoke up above the rest. "We're a respectable Clan! We can't be so desperate as to let a _kittypet_ join us!" Hope turned her head and looked through the crowd to see Webpounce standing and glaring defiantly up at her leader.

"I understand your concern, Webpounce, but the Territory Massacre has wiped out over half our Clan," Fuzzystar meowed. "We have two apprentices and no kits, and a limited number of warriors. I believe it will benefit us all if we let this cat train alongside Lizardpaw and Shinepaw."

"She's a kittypet, she'll never become a warrior!" Bluestorm called out. "She'll be nothing but an extra mouth to feed! We can barely feed ourselves! Cinderclaw died of starvation, unless anyone has forgotten."

"Have you also forgotten that this wouldn't be the first time EarthClan has brought in kittypets to train as warriors?" the old she-cat Darkflame rasped from the elders' den. "I still remember the first day Petalpaw joined the Clan like it was yesterday. We have brought a kittypet in once before, so who's to say we can't do the same now?"

"You make an excellent point, Darkflame," Fuzzystar mewed, dipping his head respectfully to the elder. "I have lost both my son and my daughter to the Territory Massacre, as well as my mate and so many other cats I'm still proud of to this day. Let Hope's contribution to our Clan play as tribute to the cats we've lost, that after all this time we are still willing to bring in any cat who wishes to help build EarthClan back up to its former glory."

Many cats in the crowd yowled their agreement, even Webpounce and Flashfall joining in. Bluestorm was the only one who didn't join the victory cries, still glaring at Hope.

Fuzzystar seemed to have noticed this, his gaze shifting to Bluestorm quickly before looking back at Hope. "Hope, is it your wish to leave your kittypet life and join EarthClan to train and one day become a warrior?"

Hope's entire body trembled with excitement, her eyes wide and shining. "It is."

Fuzzystar nodded in approval. "Hope, from this day until you recieve your warrior name, you will be known as Heatherpaw. May StarClan watch over you and help you achieve greatness."

Hope blinked curiously. She had never heard of StarClan before. This would have to be a question she'd bring to Fireleap or Redheart later on.

"And now, I shall assign you a mentor. This cat will train and prepare you to become a warrior." Without missing a beat, Fuzzystar shifted his gaze to the only cat in the Clan who hadn't joined the victory cry. "Bluestorm, you will mentor Heatherpaw."


	5. Chapter 3: EarthClan's Newest Warrior

Heatherpaw couldn't help but look over at Bluestorm. She had ended up catching his eye, and he looked just as shocked as she felt. Bluestorm was going to be her mentor? He absolutely _hated_ her, though! Ever since she showed her muzzle in EarthClan territory he was the only cat who persistently made her feel unwelcome. Of course Webpounce and Flashfall didn't seem to want her around either, but at least their first impression hadn't nearly left a slash in her nose.

She watched as Bluestorm looked back up at Fuzzystar and dipped his head to the leader. "With all due respect, Fuzzystar, why do you feel I need to mentor her? Surely another cat like Fireleap or Littlecloud would be more qualified and have more patience to trainer her?"

"I have chosen you to mentor Heatherpaw for a reason," Fuzzystar responded. "Besides, hasn't it always been especially important to you that you became a mentor yourself after what has happened in your youth?"

Bluestorm stayed silent, and his tail twitched irritably. Fuzzystar took his silence as a yes to his question. He turned back to Heatherpaw. "We welcome you to EarthClan, Heatherpaw. We know you'll do us all proud."

"Heatherpaw! Heatherpaw!"

Heatherpaw seemed to stand prouder as the Clan began to chant her new name. Of course Bluestorm, Webpounce, and Flashfall didn't join in, but she paid no mind to their hostility. She was finally a wild cat. _Well, almost._ Heatherpaw gripped the collar around her neck in between her teeth and bit down and tugged at the colorful attachment, trying to yank it off.

Bluestorm narrowed his eyes as he watched his apprentice struggle. "You know, if you can't get that thing off your neck, it's probably a sign that you don't belong out here." Just as he finished his sentence, Heatherpaw snagged her fangs on the black flimsy contraption that held the collar in place. With a click, the collar loosened completely and one end dangled in her mouth.

She swung the collar to the ground and bit into it, scoring her claws into the material, until finally she completely shredded it. She stepped away from the collar, now nothing more than a small pile of pink and blue material.

The cats around her yowled their approval. Most of the gathered around Heatherpaw, sharing their congratulations and giving her their best wishes. The battle-scarred she-cat from before also dipped her head respectfully to the new apprentice.

"Welcome to EarthClan," she meowed. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Sharpstrike, EarthClan's deputy. I help Fuzzystar make the big decisions in the Clan and organize patrols."

"It's nice to meet you, Sharpstrike," Heatherpaw mewed back.

As the cats began to file away and return to their dens, a loud meow caught her attention and she turned to see two younger cats standing next to the wall, just under the apprentices' den. She quickly concluded that these two were the other apprentices in the Clan, as well as her new denmates. They both gestured for her with their tails, and she bounded over to them.

"Welcome to EarthClan, Heatherpaw!" the light gray she-cat meowed. "I'm Shinepaw, and this is my brother Lizardpaw."

"It's gonna be so great being able to train with another apprentice!" Lizardpaw excitedly bounced.

Heatherpaw gasped in alarm as she stared at the brown tabby. He was missing an entire left foreleg. "What happened to your leg?"

"Oh, I was born with only three legs, but that's okay," Lizardpaw replied nonchalantly, seeming not to be bothered by the lack of an important limb. "Redheart's still helping me train to become the best warrior I can be."

Heatherpaw's chest filled with happiness. She was glad to know she wasn't the only one who would be training with a handicap, even though hers wasn't physical. She knew she'd have to train twice as hard as any EarthClan cat ever to prove she had what it took to become a true warrior, especially to Bluestorm. Thinking back to her apprentice ceremony, she blinked questioningly. "That reminds me. I meant to bring this question to Fireleap or Redheart, but I suppose I could ask you two: what is StarClan? I heard Fuzzystar mentioning it during my naming ceremony."

"StarClan is the Clan made up of ancient warriors from the past," Shinepaw meowed. "Once a cat dies, they join StarClan up in Silverpelt - that's the massive collection of stars you see at night. Each star is a StarClan warrior, and when a warrior joins its ranks a new star is made."

"StarClan watches over and guides each and every Clan cat," Lizardpaw added. "Though, typically only medicine cats and on occasion leaders can communicate with them. Each leader of a Clan has nine lives instead of one, and each life is given to him by a StarClan warrior."

"Wow," Heatherpaw breathed in awe. This ancient and mystical Clan sounded so fascinating. She couldn't help but wish she'd be able to talk to a StarClan cat herself someday. At that thought, her eyes darkened with worry. "But... I've only just joined the Clan. What if when I die StarClan won't accept me?"

"StarClan will let any cat join so long as they believe in StarClan, as well as live by the warrior code and do all they can to serve their Clan above all else," Lizardpaw replied. "So long as you believe in their powers and be the most loyal and trustworthy cat you can be to the Clan, you'll be worthy to join their ranks once your time comes."

Heatherpaw tilted her head to the side. "And what's the warrior code?"

"The warrior code is a series of rules each cat must follow," Shinepaw mewed. She looked up past the sandy-colored she-cat. "I'll tell you about it later, though. It looks like Bluestorm's expecting you."

Heatherpaw turned and flicked an ear uneasily when she saw her mentor glaring sternly at her from the mouth of the elders' den. She sighed and turned back to Lizardpaw and Shinepaw. "I guess I'll talk to you two later then."

"Good luck, Heatherpaw," Lizardpaw meowed as the newly made apprentice bounded over to the elders' den.

"It took you long enough," Bluestorm grunted when Heatherpaw stopped before him.

Heatherpaw's eyes narrowed. "I was only saying hi to my denmates."

"You can talk to them later. For now, I have a job for you."

Heatherpaw's ears pricked up. Her first job as an EarthClan apprentice!

Bluestorm slipped into the den and flicked his tail before it disappeared into the darkness, signaling for her to follow. She padded inside and saw Bluestorm sitting next to the two elderly cats. Darkflame, Bluestorm's mother, was laying next to the brown tortoiseshell cat she had seen before during her naming ceremony.

"Hello there, little one," the old tom purred, his right eyelid closed with scars scoring across the side of his face, his good eye squinted. "Congratulations on your new name and life. I am Shellpelt, and this grouch of a cat next to me is Darkflame."

Darkflame narrowed her eyes at Shellpelt and sniffed, then looked back at Heatherpaw. "Come here, let me take a look at you."

Heatherpaw approached the two elders, nose wrinkling at their less than pleasant breath, yet it was still much more tolerable than Musket's. Darkflame's amber eyes glowed. "Well, aren't you just a breath of fresh air? Bluestorm will turn you into a fine warrior yet."

Bluestorm's tail flicked at his paws. "Heatherpaw, as an apprentice it is your duty to care for the elders. You must search their pelts for fleas and ticks, change their bedding, and bring them fresh-kill. You may as well get to know these two, as you'll be seeing a lot of them from here on out."

If they were any other cats like Webpounce or Flashfall, Heatherpaw may have objected, but she was quickly growing to like Shellpelt and Darkflame. Besides, if it meant she'd also get the chance to learn how to hunt and defend herself, it would be worth it to care for the older cats. Excitement warmed her chest at the thought of catching a great big rabbit and giving it to the tortoiseshell and tabby for them to share.

"For your first task," Bluestorm continued, "you must search the elders' fur for ticks. Go to the medicine den and ask the medicine cat Dewcloud for some mouse bile."

Heatherpaw's nose wrinkled. Mouse bile sounded rather disgusting. However, if it got the job done in ridding a cat of ticks, then she'd have to bear through the inevitably horrid scent.

The young she-cat slipped out of the elders' den and raced across the clearing to the medicine den on the other side, leaping playfully over the small stream that cut through the cave floor. She slowed her pace to a walk and approached the mouth of the medicine den, immediately being greeted with all different kinds of scents belonging to different herbs. In the cave she found the dappled brown medicine cat Dewcloud crouched over a small white and black-speckled tom.

The tom was holding out his paw, and Heatherpaw watched as Dewcloud gingerly rasped her tongue against the pad for a good while before fastening her teeth on it. She pulled back and the tom let out a yelp, flinching in pain. Dewcloud turned to a pile of wilted herbs and spat out what looked to be a sharp rock stained with blood.

"A-Alright, Littleshade, now just give that p-paw a good lick to stop the bleeding," Dewcloud meowed with a bit of a nervous stammer. "If you f-feel any pain tomorrow, come s-see me me and I-I'll treat it."

"Thank you, Dewcloud," Littleshade meowed softly with a grateful blink. He did just that, dragging his tongue over his paw. Heatherpaw waited at the den's entrance until the small warrior finished tending to his injury and padded out, giving Heatherpaw a shy nod of greeting as he passed.

The sandy-colored apprentice found herself hesitating to go inside. She didn't know yet how Clan etiquette worked, and she didn't know if she could just walk right in or if she should wait for the medicine cat to spot her hanging around outside. She gave her chest a few licks to try and hide her discomfort.

Dewcloud let out a soft amused purr, and when Heatherpaw looked up she saw the she-cat looking at her. "It's okay, I w-won't bite. Come on in."

Ears twitching in embarrassment, Heatherpaw walked inside. She looked around, finding several herbs tucked away in crevices in the den walls. There weren't many different types, however, and from what Queen had told her about the herbal medicines a large variety is needed to treat all different kinds of ailments. It seemed the mountain wasn't the best place to find many herbs, and the forest below was too far for a cat to travel and back to make several trips for different herbs.

"You're Heatherpaw, right?" Dewcloud meowed, sitting down in front of a small pile of fuzzy leaves. She gently paced through them, and at one point she hooked a claw into a shriveled leaf and tossed it into the pile of wilted plants in the back of the cave where she deposited the bloodied rock. "Welcome to EarthClan. I'm D-Dewcloud, the Clan's medicine cat. Wh-What can I do for you?"

"It's nice to meet you, Dewcloud." Heatherpaw dipped her head respectfully at the she-cat. "Bluestorm sent me to get some mouse bile for the elders' ticks."

"Oh, I see. Your mentor's already h-having you care for the elders, is he? Y-Yes, I can get you some. Just l-let me finish sorting through these l-lamb's ears first."

Heatherpaw nodded and laid down on the cold stone floor, curling her tail up to her side and resting her chin on her paws, watching as the medicine cat worked. She closed her eyes to the soft, soothing sounds of Dewcloud's breathing and the leaves rustling against one another as she sorted out the rotten from the fresh.

Heatherpaw was about to fall into a light doze when she heard Dewcloud finally meow, "Right then. Wh-What was it that you wanted again?"

The apprentice stood back up and stretched out her limbs, feeling cold from lying on the ground for so long. "Mouse bile. Bluestorm needs me to rid the elders of their ticks."

Dewcloud's whiskers twitched in amusement. "That's right. Your very first apprentice t-task, now I remember. G-Give me just a moment." She turned to her supplies and scooped up a small ball of moss from her already small pile, and Heatherpaw tried to look around her to see what she was doing. Moments later, the medicine cat turned back to her carrying a stick with the now foul-smelling moss dangling from one end. She placed it on the ground in front of her. "Use your paws to dab the moss on the ticks and they'll fall right off. Once you're done, wash your paws in a stream. If you lick them clean, you'll have that terrible taste in your mouth for days."

Heatherpaw curled her lips over her nose to try and block out the stench. She nodded her thanks to Dewcloud and bent down to pick the stick back up, trying to ignore the smell. She padded out of the den and back over to the elders' den where she found Bluestorm glaring at her impatiently.

"What took you so long?" he growled. "It doesn't take a cat that long to get mouse bile."

Heatherpaw put the stick back down so she could answer. "Dewcloud was tending to a patient and sorting through herbs when I found her. I had to wait before I could approach her."

Bluestorm flicked his tail and turned his head away with narrowed eyes, as if frustrated that he couldn't find a reasonable excuse to scold her any further.

Heatherpaw took the moss into the elders' den and settled down next to Shellpelt, placing the stick away from the moss-lined nest and hooking the dripping bile ball in her claws, screwing up her face in disgust. "Do you have any ticks you need me to remove?"

"You're supposed to search for them yourself, not rely on them to do the job for you," Bluestorm's meow sounded from outside. Heatherpaw twitched an ear in growing annoyance.

"It's quite alright there, Bluestorm," Shellpelt croaked, flashing a sympathetic glance at the apprentice. He gave his right ear a flick. "I've got a large one right behind my ear. Think you could get it?"

"Of course." The sandy-colored she-cat had to take a few moments to get a good grip on the moss before she pressed it gently against the base of the torn ear, and once she pulled away she watched as a plump black tick fell to the ground.

"That feels much better," the old tom sighed. "I'm afraid you may have to search for any others, I can't recall if I have anymore. And if you find any fleas, you can take care of those as well. Though, with leaf-bare already here, I'm surprised there was the one tick."

Heatherpaw nodded and nuzzled her nose through the tortoiseshell fur in search for the pesky insects. As she worked, she heard the old rasp of Darkflame's voice. "How are you liking being an apprentice?"

"It's certainly messy work, that's for sure," Heatherpaw joked, chest swelling with laughter when she heard the two elders purr. "Just so long as I can learn to hunt and border patrol as well, I don't mind doing this for you two."

"Well, you certainly are a sweet kit," Darkflame meowed affectionately. "Not like that Lizardpaw. He's always complaining whenever he has to tend to us. At least his sister Shinepaw is a little more tolerant of these chores."

"I can imagine why they'd dislike doing this on account of how smelly the mouse bile is," Heatherpaw admitted, finding a flea at the base of Shellpelt's tail and cracking it between her teeth, "but it's still nice getting to know you two better. You two are much kinder than the old cats back in Twolegplace, that's for sure."

Darkflame affectionately flitted the tip of her tail in the apprentice's ear, tickling it and making her purr.

"You're supposed to be working, not making small talk," Bluestorm called out with an annoyed glare.

His mother flicked her tail and narrowed her eyes back at him. "Oh, be quiet, you. Shellpelt and I are just having a conversation. She's still doing just fine."

"Perhaps she'd be making quicker work if you weren't distracting her," the warrior grumbled under his breath.

Shellpelt huffed. "Don't take any notice. Bluestorm's always been grumpy ever since the medicine cat before Dewcloud left the territory."

Heatherpaw's ears perked curiously, and she noticed her mentor's shoulder fur twitch in shock. "Who was the medicine cat before her?"

"Hurry up in there! You have much more work to finish before the day's up!" Bluestorm cut Shellpelt off as he opened his mouth, getting ready to tell a tale. Heatherpaw growled softly and pouted as she moved over to search Darkflame for fleas and ticks.

After finding two more fleas on the elderly she-cat, Heatherpaw placed the bile-soaked moss back on the stick and, waving her tail to the two elders in farewell, padded out of the den, deflating a little when she was greeted with an annoyed-looking Bluestorm again. She narrowed her eyes at him indignantly and placed the stick down. "What? I finished, didn't I?"

"You may as well have taken all day," Bluestorm growled. "If you want to be an apprentice of EarthClan, you need to build up your speed."

"It was my first time! You can't expect me to do anything perfectly."

"Lizardpaw and Shinepaw made faster progress than you their first time around, and Lizardpaw has only one forepaw."

Heatherpaw glared down at the ground, anger scorching through her fur. How dare he compare her to other apprentices? She was doing the best she could!

"What are you standing there for? Go take care of that moss and wash your paws," Bluestorm huffed. "You've wasted enough time already. You still have plenty more to do."

Lashing her tail, Heatherpaw snatched up the stick and stalked towards the medicine den, only for her mentor's loud meow to stop her in her tracks. "Not there! We don't need you stinking up the medicine den and making cats even more sick! Take it outside!"

Heatherpaw only just stifled a growl rising in her throat and made her way to the entrance of the cave, slipping through the tunnel and digging her way through the snow that covered the tunnel from predators. She padded out of the wide cave and dug a hole in the snow just outside to deposit and bury the moss and stick. Her ears pricked when she heard pawsteps, and Bluestorm's scent washed over her.

"Let's find a stream so you can wash off your paws," he ordered. "Then you can start your next task. Follow me." The grayish-blue tom led Heatherpaw a little down the mountainside, stepping swiftly and expertly along the slippery snow-covered rocks. The apprentice had a bit more trouble keeping from slipping every so often, yet she did her best to keep up should Bluestorm decide to scold her again.

The two cats approached a large stream that flowed over several rocks jutting out and breaking the surface. Heatherpaw dipped a tentative paw in the water and immediately pulled it back with a massive shudder. The snow felt warm and comfortable compared to the frigidness of the clear stream.

Bluestorm rolled his eyes and nudged Heatherpaw into the stream. "Go on, we haven't got all day."

Heatherpaw jutted out a paw into the water to keep balance, but she ended up slipping over the loose pebbles at the bottom. With a squeak, she splashed on her side in the freezing water, and when she scrambled back to her feet she shivered and trembled, the fur on the right side of her body plastered to her skin as the dry fur on her left fluffed out to fight against the cold.

Bluestorm hissed in annoyance. "That wouldn't have happened if you'd move your tail. Now finish up quick before I freeze my tail off out here."

 _Ha! Before_ you _freeze your tail off!_ Heatherpaw shuffled her paws in the water against the pebbles as quickly as she could to wash off the mouse bile, then hopped out and shook out her fur.

Bluestorm leaped away with a spat. "Great StarClan, watch it, you mouse-brain!" he cursed. He glared at his apprentice through blue slits, causing Heatherpaw to flinch away, and he then turned to run upstream, calling over his shoulder, "Come on! Running will warm you up!"

Still shivering uncontrollably to the point where her teeth chattered, Heatherpaw broke into a run to follow her mentor. She felt her body temperature warming up a little as her blood began flowing through her veins to deliver oxygen to her muscles, and for once she felt grateful for what the rude tom had to offer for advice.

Up ahead large rounded rocks sat along either side of the stream, many of them covered with a green substance. Getting closer, Heatherpaw concluded that the green stuff was actually moss. She had no idea moss could grow in such a cold environment. That's when she noticed many browned and blackened specks of rotten mush in the moss, and she guessed the frigid air had caused it to freeze and wilt.

Bluestorm padded up to the mossy rocks and turned back to look at his apprentice. "Your next task will be to gather moss. As you can see, some of the moss here has blackened, and the elders will not appreciate sleeping in slimy bedding. You'll need to pick the rotten moss out before you bring it back to camp."

Heatherpaw forced herself to nod patiently, paying attention closely so she could avoid messing up as best she could. She blinked uneasily with a twitch of an ear. "So… how do you get the moss off the rock?"

Bluestorm huffed, then faced the closest rock to him and rested his paws on the mossy surface, he then curled his back downward and slid out his claws. "Arch your back like this and unsheathe your claws as far as they can go. Then…" With one swift motion, the tom's back leveled back out as his legs pulled back, his claws slicing cleanly along the rock's surface and tearing off a clean strip of moss. "You pull back. The lower you arch your spine and the farther you reach out your claws, the less chance you'll have of accidentally dragging a piece of stone with it. Elders will claw your ears off if they find anything in their nest that isn't supposed to be there."

 _With your constantly clawing my ears off, the elders must have no claws at all in comparison_ , Heatherpaw thought bitterly. Regardless, she approached the same rock and curled her spine downward just as Bluestorm demonstrated. She reached her claws out as far as they could go until they ached.

"Come on, you need to really pull them out," Bluestorm grunted.

"But this is as far as I can go." The young she-cat's meow was strained with effort and her hind legs began to tremble as she held her position. She positioned her claw tips on the moss and pulled back, stripping off a few clumps of moss. The strips weren't as neat as Bluestorm's but she was still able to keep out any pieces of rock.

Bluestorm sniffed disapprovingly. "That's it? That's your best effort? Were you even _trying_?"

"Of course I was trying!" Heatherpaw retorted. "In case you hadn't noticed, this is my first time searching elders for ticks and recovering from falling into a stream and collecting moss from rocks. The least you could do is have a little patience. I'm doing the absolute best I can."

"Well, do better than your best and perhaps then you'll actually be worthy of my praise," Bluestorm hissed. "Now stop meowing and start collecting more moss before we both freeze."

Heatherpaw continued harvesting moss from the rocks in silence, struggling to perfect her methods. But with every move she made, Bluestorm found one way or another to criticize her. _Come on, you're taking all day. You missed a spot, there's still some black moss in there. Next time try getting a decent amount in_ one _swipe, not five._ Heatherpaw was cold, sore, and frustrated, yet at the same time relieved, when Bluestorm was finally satisfied with the amount of moss they had gathered. She watched as Bluestorm bundled up two separate piles of moss, then gripped one in his jaws as he picked up the other with his chin, pressing it against his chest. She struggled to replicate the actions, yet on the way back to camp she had to stop a few times whenever the moss would slip out from under her chest, each time growing more and more frustrated at Bluestorm's muffled hisses.

Finally, the two made it back to camp and slipped through the covered hole back into the main cave. Bluestorm dropped his bundles of moss on the floor and turned to Heatherpaw, who was still shivering from falling into the stream earlier. "Clean out the elders' nests and put fresh moss in them, then give the rest to Dewcloud."

Having deposited her two bundles in the same pile not two heartbeats before her mentor gave his new instructions, Heatherpaw stifled a sigh and picked back up a bundle. She was about to turn away when she spotted Flashfall, Fireleap, Redheart, and Lizardpaw make their way back to the cave entrance. She put the moss down and called out to her fellow apprentice. "Hey, Lizardpaw, where are you all going?"

Lizardpaw turned back to Heatherpaw, his eyes shining excitedly. "I'm going on my very first hunting patrol! Redheart's gonna help me perfect my hunter's crouch!"

Heatherpaw's tail shot up in interest. "Hey, maybe I can ask Bluestorm to take me with you." An uncomfortable look from the three-legged tabby reminded her who exactly who each of their mentors were. "Oh, yeah, that's right, Bluestorm and Redheart can't stand each other. Well, maybe just I could go. Let me go ask."

The sandy-colored apprentice bounded across the clearing to where Bluestorm stood talking with Dewcloud at the mouth of the medicine den. He looked over his shoulder at his apprentice as she approached and narrowed her eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be cleaning the elders' nests?"

"I'm sorry, but I wanted to ask if I could join Lizardpaw's hunting patrol," she meowed eagerly. "I want to learn how to hunt, too."

Bluestorm's tail flicked dismissively. "You're already doing something else. You can't just drop whatever you're doing to join a patrol."

"But, Bluestorm-"

"Go back and finish your apprentice duties."

Heatherpaw sighed, her tail drooping and her head hanging low. She began to slowly walk away, then she looked over her shoulder back at her mentor, who had turned back to Dewcloud. Hesitantly, she asked, "But you will take me out later, right?"

Bluestorm either didn't hear her question or he chose not to respond, and Heatherpaw was willing to guess the latter was true. She slowly stalked back towards the elders' den to retrieve her moss. Caring for the elders was fine and all, but what was the point of being a wild cat if you aren't even allowed to hunt?


	6. Chapter 4: Apprentice and Mentor Clash

It had been a quarter moon since Heatherpaw joined EarthClan. She had thought she would've had at least one day to leave the camp and practice hunting or patrol the borders or do anything other than caring for the elders and doing other camp chores. She had thought wrong. Bluestorm seemed determined to keep her from doing any apprentice training of any kind that involved leaving the camp, and Heatherpaw found the large cave to be very stuffy despite the large gap in the ceiling that allowed fresh air and sunlight to filter through.

Even though the lack of doing anything other than tending to the elders has helped her bond with Shellpelt and Darkflame, Heatherpaw still wished she could go outside and at least explore the territory for a day. Of course, whenever she'd ask to leave the cave, Bluestorm would either snap at her, send her off to work, or ignore her entirely. She was starting to feel frustrated, feeling even more cooped up than when she had lived with her Twolegs.

Today was unsurprisingly another one of those days where Bluestorm declined Heatherpaw's wish to go outside and instead ordered her to clean out the elders' bedding again. With a hiss of anger, the sandy-colored she-cat stomped off towards the medicine den.

Many trips to the medicine den has taught her to just invite herself into the medicine den so long as she signaled her presence with a soft mew. She slipped inside and immediately found Dewcloud sitting with Fireleap, who was laying down on the ground with a painful wince, his eyes screwed shut and his head bowed. Concerned, Heatherpaw approached the two cats.

"F-Fireleap slipped on some ice during p-patrol and hit his head on a rock," Dewcloud grunted as Heatherpaw neared, as if she could sense her presence and worry. She gave an irritated twitch of her tail. "He has a h-headache now, and the best herb th-that can help him recover from it has been k-killed in the frost."

"What is it?" Heatherpaw asked, walking up to stand next to the medicine cat.

"Feverfew," Dewcloud replied tautly. "It's also the b-best herb to prevent or cures fever, which any cat is p-prone to during leaf-bare." She sighed and picked up a small wilted red flower bulb. She gently shook it and two tiny black seeds fell out. She licked her paw and pressed it down on the seeds to pick them up, then held her paw out to Fireleap. "E-Eat these poppy seeds. They'll e-ease the pain and h-help you sleep. It's the b-best I can do. I'm sorry, brother."

"That's okay, Dewcloud." Fireleap blinked affectionately up at his sister. He licked up the seeds and slowly padded over to the mossy nest Dewcloud led him to. Curling up in the nest and resting his tail over his nose, his breathing slowed as he quickly fell asleep, the seeds' effects kicking in.

Dewcloud drew her tongue over Fireleap's ear, then turned to Heatherpaw. Sympathy shone in her eyes. "B-Back for more moss I'm guessing."

Heatherpaw huffed. "Bluestorm just won't let me go anywhere. He's always making me tend to the elders. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love spending time with Shellpelt and Darkflame! I just wish I could do other stuff as well, you know?"

"I know e-exactly what you mean," Dewcloud nodded. She gestured with her tail to the large pile of moss next to the herb store, inviting the apprentice to help herself to as much as she needed.

After gathering up as much moss as she could carry in her mouth, Heatherpaw made her way out of the den and started walking to the other end of the cave. Movement caught her eye, and she turned her head to see Lizardpaw and Shinepaw standing next to the snow-covered exit to the cave, facing each other, tails swishing excitedly.

"Okay, now you try it on me," Shinepaw meowed, crouching down and getting ready to sprint.

Nodding, Lizardpaw crouched as well and watched intensely as the silver-furred apprentice darted this way and that before finally launching herself at him. Suddenly, Lizardpaw reared up on his hind legs and Shinepaw leaped at his belly. At the last moment, Lizardpaw leaned back and rolled along his curved spine like a rolling stone, hooking his one paw over Shinepaw's back and positioning his hind legs under her belly. He pushed out powerfully with his hind legs, sending Shinepaw flying into the air and crashing down on her back. The three-legged apprentice rolled back up onto his paws and leaped at Shinepaw, quickly lowering his bared teeth down to her shoulder without biting down.

The battle move was finished, as Lizardpaw stood back up and backed away as Shinepaw flipped back onto her paws. "That was incredible, Lizardpaw!" Shinepaw exclaimed excitedly.

Heatherpaw had watched the entire battle move, and she couldn't help but feel envious of the two apprentices. How come she had to do all the chores while Lizardpaw and Shinepaw got to battle train? She was convinced the two had even more time to train with their mentors now that all their other apprentice chores have been taken over by Heatherpaw.

She was watching the training so intensely she hadn't even noticed Webpounce walking past her. Her right foreleg suddenly gave out from under her as the gray warrior knocked her paw against it, and she fell on her chest, banging her chin painfully on the stone ground and biting her tongue. She yelped in pain and the moss gathered in her mouth scattered across the floor.

"Oops, sorry," Webpounce purred, not sounding sincere in her apology at all.

Heatherpaw shakily climbed back to her feet and glared at Webpounce as she stalked off, her tail waving in the air behind her, then turned back to the mess on the floor and began pawing scraps of moss back into one ball.

She sensed two cats approaching her and looked up to see Lizardpaw and Shinepaw reaching out their paws to help gather up the moss. Both of them looked down at her sympathetically, having witnessed what their mother had done.

"We're sorry about Webpounce," Shinepaw mewed. "She's never really been the same ever since her mother Spiderweb passed. She has a hard time trusting outsiders after a strange rogue killed her out of nowhere."

Alarmed, Heatherpaw looked back up at the older she-cat. She never would have guessed that her mother's death played a part in her becoming the rude cat she was now. It made more sense that Flashfall would act the same way, since he was Webpounce's firstborn. However, that still didn't excuse either of them for their behaviors towards her, and it most definitely doesn't explain why Bluestorm would be so hard on her.

"Are you off to clean out the elders' bedding again?" Lizardpaw asked after he and his sister helped their new denmate gather up all the moss. "We could help you if you want."

"Lizardpaw! Shinepaw!" Sharpstrike's loud voice echoed off the cave walls. She and Redheart were standing under the Summitrock with Fuzzystar standing between them. "You two come over here. We have to discuss your training progress with Fuzzystar."

Both apprentices' ears pricked with excitement and rushed off to meet with their mentors and leader. Lizardpaw skidded to a halt and looked back at Heatherpaw, sympathy momentarily overriding his euphoria. "Sorry, Heatherpaw. We'll both help you another time, okay?" He then raced after his sister.

Heatherpaw watched the two apprentices go with a sad sigh. If only Bluestorm were a mentor like Redheart or Sharpstrike. Then she'd be meeting with Fuzzystar to discuss training progresses. She suddenly felt very alone. All the cats in the Clan had the chance to train to become warriors, but all she was trained to do was how to harvest moss, clean out soiled bedding, and search for ticks. She lowered her head sadly and trudged to the elders' den.

She let out a muffled mew to let the oldest cats in the Clan know she was coming in, and she saw both Shellpelt and Darkflame glance kindly at her when she stepped in.

Heatherpaw placed her bundle of moss down so she could clearly speak. "I'm here to change out your bedding."

However, for once, neither elder made a move to struggle up to their paws and step aside to give her room to work. Instead, Darkflame glanced past the apprentice at the Clan leader with the other two apprentices and their mentors. Her voice was full of compassion when she spoke. "You wish you could join them, don't you?"

The question took Heatherpaw by surprise. She hadn't expected the old she-cat to practically read her thoughts. She lowered her gaze and stared down at the moss. She didn't like moss very much anymore. "It's not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but I just wish I could go outside and train to hunt and fight and patrol like Lizardpaw and Shinepaw."

"It's not fair," Darkflame huffed in understanding. "Here you are, the apprentice of the grouchiest cat in the Clan, and no matter how many times you follow his orders he still won't give you the chance to prove your worth."

Heatherpaw looked up at Darkflame and nodded. That was exactly how she felt. How was she supposed to prove that she could support and defend herself - no, that she could support and defend her _Clan_ \- if Bluestorm wouldn't give her a chance? "I try to ask him to bring me out for training, but he won't listen to me."

"Well… It seems there's only one thing to do now." Darkflame let out a puff of breath as she struggled up to her paws. Once she gained balance and footing, she stood up tall, her head and tail raised in the air. In spite of her appearance, she looked like a true EarthClan warrior. "If Bluestorm won't properly train you, then I will."

The sandy-colored she-cat stared in awe at the elder. She could see toned muscles rippling under her slightly matted tabby fur, and her amber eyes shone with strength and wisdom. Just know that a grand cat such as Darkflame was going to train her in ways Bluestorm refused to seemed to fill her with determination.

"Be careful now, you hear?" Shellpelt called out as Darkflame walked rather stiffly out of the den. The old she-cat flicked an ear in response.

"Now then," Darkflame began, standing tall before Heatherpaw, "perhaps the first thing I should teach you is the basic hunter's crouch. You see, when circumstances are right, EarthClan cats work in pairs to hunt down their prey. The hunter in back uses the snow to their advantage, crunching it as he approaches the prey from behind. It will be startled and run the other way, only for another warrior in waiting to pounce out of hiding and deal the final blow.

"However, we don't always get snow year-round," the elder continued. "At times where there isn't snow to scare prey into a trap, we must learn how to stalk stealthily between rocks. Give me your best hunter's crouch and we'll go from there."

Heatherpaw nodded and did as she was told, bunching up her muscles and lowering her belly to the cave floor. Her tail slowly swished behind her, and she yelped when she felt a gentle paw pin it down in place.

"You shouldn't move your tail, otherwise you'll stir up the ground behind you and alert your prey," Darkflame warned. She lifted her paw away. "Now then, keep your tail straight and begin stalking."

Heatherpaw nodded and stuck her tail straight out to help keep her balance, then she lifted a forepaw and placed it slowly and softly on the ground. One paw after the other, she crept in silence along the ground, keeping her intense gaze on a rock that jutted out of the wall, pretending it was a large, juicy rabbit.

"Your belly fur is sliding against the ground," Darkflame observed. "Arch your spine a little."

Heatherpaw did as she was told, and she noticed that all was completely silent, knowing that she was completely unaware at the time of the sound of her fur grazing along the cave floor.

The elder let out a purr. "Very good! You'll be a great hunter in no time! Next, how about we try-"

"Heatherpaw!" Heatherpaw shot straight up, eyes wide in alarm, at her mentor's voice. She gulped and shrunk back as she saw Bluestorm stomping towards her, his one good eye glaring angrily at her. "What do you think you're doing? I told you to change out the elders' bedding, _not_ play around with them!"

"B-But I…" Heatherpaw tried to reason, but her mentor cut her off.

"I should have you reported to Fuzzystar for insubordination after this. I gave you clear instructions even a kit could comprehend."

"Don't you think you're being too hard on the little scrap?" There was a tone of warning in Darkflame's mew when she spoke. "After all, she has been spending the past quarter-moon cooped up in camp."

Bluestorm glared at his mother and lashed his tail. "With all due respect, Darkflame, Heatherpaw is my apprentice, so I should be the one to tell her what she can and cannot do," he growled through his teeth. He rounded back on his apprentice. "Since I can't seem to trust you to do even the simplest of tasks anymore, you can go straight back to the apprentices' den instead and wait there until I've finished talking with Fuzzystar about this."

"Finished talking to Fuzzystar about what?" Sharpstrike's challenging meow sounded from behind. Bluestorm whipped around to stare at the Clan deputy with wide, startled eyes, his pelt ruffled by the scare. He flattened his fur and fixed her with a hard gaze.

" _Heatherpaw_ here is deliberately disobeying my orders," Bluestorm explained, growling his apprentice's name through gritted teeth. "I'm just sending her back to her den to wait as I have a talk with Fuzzystar about her misbehavior."

"If I may interject," Darkflame rasped, "poor Heatherpaw hasn't stepped a single paw outside within the last quarter-moon since she arrived. I find it unfair that she has to be stuck doing all the apprentice chores, giving Lizardpaw and Shinepaw more than enough free time to train. Being an apprentice means you must share the work, not pawn all responsibilities onto one of them."

Sharpstrike glared at Bluestorm. "Your mother has a point, you know. Don't think I haven't noticed Heatherpaw running around doing your bidding just because you're too lazy to take her outside of the cave. Unless, of course, it isn't because you're too lazy to properly train her." She glared accusingly at the grayish-blue warrior, who glanced away uncomfortably. Snorting, Sharpstrike continued. "While it is who you decides what your apprentice does, it is my job as Clan deputy to assign duties to my warriors. Bluestorm, you shall take Heatherpaw out for a border patrol immediately."

Bluestorm opened his mouth, drawing in a quick breath, getting ready to argue. He thought better of it after a brief moment and closed it again, his ears flicking in irritation. "Yes, Sharpstrike," he muttered.

Sharpstrike nodded in satisfaction and turned to walk away. Stopping, she spoke again, not looking back at the warrior she addressed. "And you will take Redheart and Lizardpaw with you."

"What? No!" Bluestorm yowled in disbelief before he could stop himself, but Sharpstrike was already stalking off with her tail held high. He growled lowly to himself and shot a menacing glare at Heatherpaw, clearly blaming her for the predicament he now found himself in. Heatherpaw just stood tall and met his glare with her own; she knew she did nothing wrong, so there was no need to avoid his gaze.

After what felt like an eternity of locked gazes, Bluestorm finally spoke. "You'd might as well go round up Redheart and Lizardpaw for patrol."

"Can't you do it?" Heatherpaw dared to ask. She got her answer when her mentor bared his teeth at her. Quickly agreeing, she slipped away and raced to the warriors' den where she found Redheart sharing tongues with Flashfall at the mouth of the den. "Redheart!" she called up to him.

Redheart blinked curiously and peered over the ledge to look down at Heatherpaw. "Yes?"

"You and Lizardpaw are needed on a border patrol," the sandy-colored she-cat meowed.

Redheart's head disappeared over the ledge, and a few moments later he hopped down to the ground as Flashfall padded back into den. The ginger-and-white warrior's eyes were bright and friendly. "Alright, I'll go grab Lizardpaw. Who are we going on patrol with?"

This was the tricky part. Heatherpaw averted her gaze to the ground. "Me and Bluestorm." When she looked back up, she saw the happy expression Redheart wore almost immediately turn into scorn. She sighed. "Sharpstrike's orders. Bluestorm isn't too thrilled about it, either."

"I would think so," Redheart grunted with an irritated flick of his tail. "Well… It's not like I can disobey the Clan deputy just because I don't get along with him. Very well, Lizardpaw and I will meet you outside the camp."

* * *

Heatherpaw inhaled deeply through her nose. The cold leaf-bare air was so fresh and cool, and she could feel energy seeping into her body after so long being stuck in the camp. She resisted the urge to run through the snow and frolic like a young kit; that would most certainly upset Bluestorm, and the last thing she wanted was for him to turn her back around.

The patrol headed down the mountainside towards the stream where the moss grew. The chill of last night seemed to have formed a thin sheet of ice over the stream, and the water flowed gently from underneath.

"Careful, it'll be very slippery here," Redheart warned. "Walk on the snow to keep your footing."

"I could've told her that," Bluestorm grunted grouchily. Redheart glared back at him in annoyance, but kept silent.

Heatherpaw blinked up innocently at her mentor. "How come we need to patrol the border?"

"Well, _obviously_ it's to keep enemies from trespassing onto our land and stealing our prey," Bluestorm growled impatiently with a roll of his eyes. "Honestly, are you that dense?"

 _Perhaps I would've known better if you'd actually taken me outside,_ Heatherpaw thought bitterly.

"It's more than that," Redheart piped in. "You see, before the Territory Massacre EarthClan coexisted with three other Clans. We used to mark and patrol our borders to keep enemy cats from trespassing. The reason we're doing it here is to preserve the warrior code, which states borders must be patrolled daily."

"That's basically what I said," Bluestorm snarled.

"Huh, hardly…"

Heatherpaw exchanged an apprehensive expression with Lizardpaw, and she could tell he was thinking the same thing. _This outing isn't nearly as fun as I was hoping it would be._

Suddenly, Lizardpaw's gaze rapidly shifted, and Heatherpaw followed his gaze to find a mouse scampering over the moss on one of the larger rocks, nibbling at the green plantlife. She wanted very badly to show off the hunter's crouch Darkflame had taught her, but Bluestorm seemed to have read her mind and glared warningly at her.

"In case you have forgotten, this is a _border_ patrol, not a _hunting_ patrol," he growled.

"The elders could use some prey, especially this late into leaf-bare," Redheart objected. He nodded to his apprentice. "Alright, Lizardpaw, let's see if you can catch that mouse."

Lizardpaw nodded enthusiastically and crouched low to the ground, keeping his tail sticking out to prevent dragging in the snow behind him. Heatherpaw could see eagerness and excitement flashing in his amber eyes, but she noticed he was having a little difficulty creeping forward with only one forepaw to balance on. He had managed to stay undetected, however, and he crept closer and closer to the rock.

" _That's_ supposed to be a hunter's crouch?" Bluestorm abruptly meowed in such a volume that suggested he was trying to make the three-legged apprentice lose his catch. "You're hobbling around like a lopsided badger, Lizardpaw!"

The mouse jerked its head up and saw the cats, then squealed and raced off to its burrow in the snow. Heatherpaw saw hurt flash in Lizardpaw's eyes and she felt a stab of pity for him. He was doing just fine, but Bluestorm insisted that his brother's apprentice messed up.

The young tabby tom walked back over to the patrol, head hanging low in shame. "I'm sorry. I'm doing the best I can."

"You were doing absolutely fine, Lizardpaw," Redheart reassured him, giving him a lick between the ears. "You would've been able to catch that mouse, too, if _someone_ hadn't scared it off. Honestly, Bluestorm, how could you do that?"

Bluestorm shrugged. "It's not my fault you teach your apprentice how to lumber around. He was bound to alert the mouse on his own anyway. I was just saving him the humiliation."

"Leave me to train my own apprentice, and you worry about yours!"

Heatherpaw narrowed her eyes in disapproval at the quarreling brothers, then turned to walk up to Lizardpaw, who still looked quite beaten down by the lost catch. "It's okay, Lizardpaw. I think you did amazing."

"But I still didn't catch it," he sulked.

"And that's Bluestorm's fault, not yours. It's nothing against you, he just wanted to aggravate Redheart."

Lizardpaw's tail lashed behind him. "I just wish those two would make up already. It's too difficult do anything in the Clan with them always fighting like that."

Heatherpaw murmured her agreement. The two toms were putting a hold on all training thanks to their back-and-forth squabbling. Surely it isn't just Lizardpaw who's become fed up with the lack of harmony.

The bickering finally quieted down, and the patrol continued downstream. Reluctantly, Bluestorm taught Heatherpaw how to mark the rocks along the shore to refresh the border, and after a few attempts she was able to nearly perfectly do the same. For the first time in days, she felt like a true EarthClan apprentice.

A scent breezed passed the she-cat's nose, and she recognized it to be another mouse. Almost immediately she spotted the furry little creature nestled among a clump of brown, frostbitten grass off the shore. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, she crouched down, being sure to lift her belly fur and tail away from the snowy ground as Darkflame had taught her. Very carefully she crept towards the mouse, which was utterly unaware of her presence.

"Heatherpaw!" Bluestorm's angry yowl rang through the air. The mouse looked up and saw Heatherpaw nearly on top of it and it ran off with a squeal.

Disappointed and fuming, Heatherpaw gritted her teeth and stood up straight, her tail giving a violent lash. _Mouse dung! I was about to catch it!_

Bluestorm stomped over to his apprentice, glaring angrily down at her. "What do you think you're doing? This is a _border_ patrol. Therefore, you stay along the _border_!"

"Bluestorm!" Redheart growled from the bank. "She was stalking prey! You just wasted her _another_ meal! Have you no heart for the elders?"

"It's not like she would've caught it anyway," Bluestorm retorted. "She was upwind of it; it was bound to scent her eventually.

Heatherpaw felt something in her snap, and she turned on her mentor. "Well, perhaps if you'd taught me how to hunt like a normal mentor instead of kept me in camp all day every day I would've known better! Darkflame's a far better mentor than you, and she's an elder!"

She knew she was going to get in trouble for shouting at her mentor - him being Bluestorm no less - but she seemed unable to stop her bottled emotions from flowing free now. "All you've had me do ever since I arrived was tell me to care for the elders, and while I enjoy being in their company I also wanted to practice hunting and fighting like Lizardpaw and Shinepaw. Why do they get to do that while I don't?"

"Heatherpaw, calm down," Lizardpaw softly meowed. "I know you're frustrated that you lost your catch, but you don't need to take it out on Bluestorm."

"That's just it, Lizardpaw! I'm not angry at the mouse! I'm angry at _you_!" The she-cat glared furiously at Bluestorm, not even shaken when she saw he was glaring back with so much rage she could practically see his fur quivering.

"Well, how do you think I feel knowing that my first apprentice has to be some wanna-be cat who just wants protection from an old, mangy tom?" Bluestorm spat back. He thrust his face into Heatherpaw's. "Face it, you're not good enough to hunt or fight with Clan cats. All you'll ever be is a whiny little kittypet who's too scared to go home. You will _never_ be a real warrior."

Heatherpaw stared up at him in utter shock, her mouth gaped open. Her own mentor didn't believe she had what it took to be a true EarthClan warrior. She could barely even hear Redheart's voice as he hissed at his brother, or Lizardpaw's sympathetic mew as he tried to comfort her. The she-cat could feel her heart beginning to break within her.

But it refused.

She glared at Bluestorm for a few moments, then spat and swiped a clawed paw at his nose. Surprise lit up in his eyes right before his muzzle was struck. Blinded by fury, Heatherpaw raced away deeper into the territory, ignoring her mentor's orders to come back.

Heatherpaw didn't know where her paws were taking her, but she didn't care. How _dare_ Bluestorm tell her she wasn't good enough? He had no right to tell her what she can and cannot be! She'd show him!

She didn't know how long she ran for, but within moments her breath started to come in large gasps, and her muscles screamed at her to stop. She skidded to a halt and panted. She had no idea where she was in EarthClan's territory now, but thankfully she could still catch her own scent from where she came.

However, she didn't want to go home yet. She didn't want to face Bluestorm. Not until she thought of a way to prove herself to him that she was just as capable of becoming a warrior as Lizardpaw and Shinepaw.

Movement caught her attention, and she quickly spotted a large white creature hopping among the rocks looking for anything green to eat. She recognized it to be a rabbit; she would sometimes see a pair of rabbits a few dens away from her old home in Twolegplace.

The rabbit was snow-white and absolutely huge for leaf-bare prey. If she could catch it, perhaps she could finally prove her worth!

Heatherpaw dropped down to a hunter's crouch, remembering all the rules she had been taught. She lifted her belly fur and tail off the ground, stepped lightly, and stayed downwind of the rabbit so it wouldn't scent her.

As she got closer and closer, her heart began to race with excitement, so rapidly that she feared the rabbit might hear it. She crouched right behind it and bundled up her legs, ready to pounce. The rabbit still had no idea a predator was behind it.

 _Now!_

Heatherpaw leaped off the ground and landed squarely on the rabbit's back. It let out a squeal of terror and tried to squirm away, but Heatherpaw quickly lowered her head and chomped down on its neck. It went limp almost immediately.

Heatherpaw sat up and licked the blood from her lips. Out of all the mice, shrews, and water voles she had eaten, rabbit was officially her favorite. It was big and plump, almost as big as she was; it would make an excellent meal for Shellpelt and Darkflame.

The sandy-colored apprentice closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer to StarClan. _Thank you, StarClan, for offering EarthClan such large fresh-kill this leaf-bare._ Lowering her head back down, she picked up the rabbit and struggled to drag it in the way back to camp. She could only hope the snow wouldn't freeze and toughen it before she returned home.

Excitement and joy warmed her, and for a moment she was completely unaware she was trudging through snow and ice in a chilly breeze. She had caught her first prey, a rabbit no less, without proper training. She couldn't wait to return back to camp and show Bluestorm just how wrong he was about her.


	7. Chapter 5: Mending Fences

Heatherpaw's legs trembled and her jaws ached from dragging the large rabbit over the icy rocks. She was still grateful to StarClan for granting her Clan something big and meaty during leaf-bare, but she was afraid all the dragging in the snow would rapidly cool and stiffen the fresh-kill, making it too tough to chew for the elders' worn-down teeth.

Still, the apprentice hadn't stopped to rest ever since she began the journey back to camp, even though she really needed one. She was determined to make it back to camp and prove to her Clanmates - Bluestorm in particular - that she was just as capable of providing for the Clan as any other cat.

Despite her sense of smell being shrouded by rabbit, she could still faintly pick up a new series of scents, and familiar ones at that. She looked up just in time to see a small patrol bounding down over the rocks, led by the Clan deputy Sharpstrike.

"Heatherpaw!" Sharpstrike called out when she spotted her. She led the other two patrol members - Fireleap and Webpounce - down the last few rocks to reach her. She glared sternly down at her. "Fuzzystar just sent out a search party to look for you."

Heatherpaw placed down the rabbit to speak, but before she could reply, Webpounce stepped up, her eyes narrowed tauntingly. "Oh, poor Heatherpaw. Bluestorm is absolutely _furious_ that you ran off all on your own. I'd be absolutely terrified to go back to camp if I were you."

 _It's a good thing I'm not as mouse-hearted as you then,_ Heatherpaw growled to herself.

Fireleap bent down to sniff the fresh-kill, then looked at Heatherpaw in surprise. "Did you catch this?"

"Yes," the apprentice nodded, trying not to look too proud of herself. This clearly wasn't the time or place to look smug.

"We haven't seen anything this size since leaf-bare began," the tortoiseshell tom commented, sounding impressed.

"Who cares?" Webpounce grunted to her mate. She turned back on Heatherpaw. "Don't you think the Clan has anything better to do than to search for runaway apprentices because they're too full of themselves to not do what their mentor tells them to do?"

Heatherpaw's fur fluffed up in agitation and she just barely held back a spat.

"That's enough, Webpounce," Sharpstrike warned. "No one got hurt, and we have enough prey to feed half the Clan. You've done a good job." The deputy glanced at Heatherpaw, her eyes warm.

Heatherpaw softly purred, ducking her head down sheepishly.

"Come, let us return to camp. I'll carry your rabbit the rest of the way." Sharpstrike picked up the rabbit, raising her head to keep its snow-white pelt from dragging across the ground, and she led the cats back up the rocks.

Webpounce lashed her tail and glared back at Heatherpaw, obviously upset that she hadn't gotten into more trouble, but she ignored her. She had successfully caught some fresh-kill for the Clan, and knowing the cats would make a fine meal out of it was all that mattered. _Well, that and proving to Bluestorm I'm not some throwaway apprentice._

It didn't take long for the cats to climb back up to the large cave in the mountain that disguised their camp. Slipping through the hole, they made their way back into the heart of EarthClan's territory.

Heatherpaw noticed the cats all turned to see that she had not only returned with the search party, but Sharpstrike was carrying a large rabbit in her jaws.

Shinepaw rushed over to her mentor, her eyes sparkling. "Wow, Sharpstrike! That's a huge rabbit!"

"Great catch, Sharpstrike," Flashfall called out from the warriors' den.

Heatherpaw narrowed her eyes, feeling stung. She should have brought the rabbit back herself. Now the Clan thought the deputy had made the incredible catch while she seemed to remain a lousy apprentice.

However, Sharpstrike placed down the rabbit to speak clearly to the cats who addressed her. "Actually, this wasn't my catch. It was Heatherpaw's." She glanced back at the sandy-colored cat, who blinked in surprise and gratitude.

"Heatherpaw? She caught that?" Flashfall sniffed. "Well… it does look be he a little scrawny on second glance." He turned his back and made his way back into the den. Heatherpaw glared after him.

" _You_ caught it?" Shinepaw squeaked, seeming to almost vibrate from the excitement. "That's so amazing!"

At that moment, meows came from all around the cave as the cats congratulated Heatherpaw on her mighty catch.

"Great job, Heatherpaw!"

"That's the largest rabbit I've ever seen!"

"Fuzzystar sure made a good decision letting her join the Clan."

As if on cue, Fuzzystar padded across the clearing up to the apprentice, Bluestorm next to him. The leader looked just as mighty yet calm as the day she'd first met him, no trace of disappointment or anger in his yellow eyes. The same couldn't be said for Bluestorm, though; he still glared dangerously at his apprentice.

Before Fuzzystar could speak, the grayish-blue tom stomped up to Heatherpaw. "How _dare_ you run away during a border patrol? I let you out the camp for one day and what do you do? You disobey my orders and nearly get yourself lost out there!"

"That's enough, Bluestorm," Fuzzystar meowed. He turned back to Heatherpaw, his gaze stern. "He is right, however. You should've known better than to run off like that."

"But-" Heatherpaw started, but she stopped herself. Fuzzystar would hardly believe her if she told him how unfair a mentor Bluestorm was being to her. She caught his eye, and her shoulders bristled when she saw the tom wearing a smug sneer on his face.

"To be fair, Fuzzystar," Sharpstrike mewed, nodding to the rabbit, "she did bring back a hearty meal for the Clan."

The leader looked at the fresh-kill and his eyes widened in surprise. He looked back at Heatherpaw with warmth. "You have done well, Heatherpaw. This is a remarkable first catch."

"Well, it wouldn't have been her _first_ catch if Bluestorm hadn't scared off that mouse she tried to stalk earlier!" Redheart suddenly hissed, glaring at his brother. Bluestorm glared back at him, but then shrunk back when Fuzzystar turned to glare at him.

"Is this true? Did you cost this young cat what could've been her first catch?" he demanded.

Bluestorm glanced down at his paws, looking ashamed. "I… Well, we were on a border patrol, not a hunting patrol."

"This is leaf-bare, in case you have forgotten," Sharpstrike spat with an angry lash of her tail. "This Clan needs all the food it can get. You've just cost one of our cats their dinner tonight."

Bluestorm's ears flattened against his head and he recoiled at the deputy's harsh words, and for once Heatherpaw couldn't help but feel sympathetic. Sure, he was trying to make her time outside the camp as difficult as it could be, but it wasn't as if he didn't care about his Clan. She knew deep down that he meant well; he was just a little grumpy and skeptical of his apprentice.

Her sympathy didn't last long, for when she caught his eye she felt frustration rising within her once again when she saw him glaring angrily at her, as if he blamed her for being scolded in front of the entire Clan.

Finally, Bluestorm huffed and averted his gaze. "Well, you'd might as well give the rabbit to the elders." With that, he stalked away, and Fuzzystar and Sharpstrike began to speak quietly to each other as they headed to the leader's den.

Heatherpaw picked up the rabbit in her jaws and dragged it over to the elders' den, letting out a muffled meow through the short white fur to alert the old tom and she-cat inside she was inviting herself in.

Once inside, she saw a half-eaten mouse in front of each elder, and she placed the rabbit down at their paws. "I caught you two something."

Darkflame's raspy purr sounded from her throat as she admired the size of the catch. "I can't remember the last time I've seen such prey. You have done very well, Heatherpaw. It seems this old cat has taught you well."

Heatherpaw let out a soft _mrrow_ of laughter and sat contently as she watched Darkflame and Shellpelt finish their mice, then take a large bite of the rabbit.

After two or three mouthfuls, Shellpelt nudged the rabbit back to Heatherpaw. "Here, you take the rest of this and share it with someone out there."

"Are you sure you don't want to finish it?" Heatherpaw frowned. She had caught the rabbit with the intention of letting them share the entire thing.

"We've already had some mice before this, and we feel fuller than we can remember," Darkflame mewed. She gave the half-eaten rabbit another nudge towards the apprentice. "Take it, we insist. Don't worry, you won't be breaking the warrior code."

Blinking gratefully to the elders, Heatherpaw picked the fresh-kill back up, finding it was much lighter now that large chunks of its flesh were gone. She carried it to the cave wall under the apprentices' den and settled down beside it, then looked around in hopes to find a cat to share it with.

"Hi, Heatherpaw," Redheart meowed cheerfully as he approached. "I just wanted to congratulate you again on the rabbit. I can see Darkflame and Shellpelt enjoyed some of it."

Heatherpaw nodded up at the friendly tom. "They already ate before, so they let me have the rest. Do you want to share?"

"Thanks, Heatherpaw, I'll have a couple bites." Redheart nestled down next to Heatherpaw and took a large bite of the rabbit.

Heatherpaw dug her teeth into it next and pulled free a large chunk of meat, pleased to find it was still warm and soft despite the exposure to the snow outside. She purred at the taste. It was sweet, and it had a hint of an earthy taste to it. "I think rabbit's my favorite now," she meowed after swallowing.

"Yes, rabbit is very tasty, though I still prefer squirrel," Redheart commented. "Unfortunately I've only ever tried it once in my life. They're very rare here on the mountain, but I hear they're all over the place in the forest below."

Heatherpaw looked up when she detected movement in her peripheral and saw Bluestorm stalk across the clearly rather sulkily. She felt pity for her mentor, yet a part of her still felt he had gotten what he deserved. Finally, she rose to a sit and called out to him. "Bluestorm! Do you want to share this rabbit with me? It's still warm."

Bluestorm looked up at his apprentice, then at the rabbit, then at his brother, and finally back to Heatherpaw. Without saying a word, he looked back down at the ground and trudged away.

"Well, that answers that," Redheart grunted after a second mouthful of rabbit. "He must be in a pretty bad mood if he rejected rabbit; it's his favorite prey, too."

Heatherpaw sighed sadly and turned back to her prey, but a loud meow of, "Bluestorm!" caught her attention again. She saw Sharpstrike trotting towards the tom, her eyes narrowed.

"Bluestorm, ever since Heatherpaw began training here, you have done nothing but send her to tend to the elders while Lizardpaw and Shinepaw trained to become warriors. It's fairly obvious you're doing everything in your power to keep Heatherpaw from becoming a warrior as well, and EarthClan does not tolerate that. Therefore, Fuzzystar and I have discussed in private, and we have come to a decision."

Bluestorm looked up at the deputy, sad confusion in his one good eye. What Sharpstrike said next sent a jolt of alarm through Heatherpaw.

"Bluestorm, I am hereby discontinuing your training with Heatherpaw."

Bluestorm's eyes widened, and Heatherpaw flinched when she saw genuine distress in his expression. "What? No!"

"Fuzzystar and I will decide who Heatherpaw's new mentor will be," Sharpstrike continued, ignoring the tom's outburst. "You'll be lucky if you ever get to mentor another cat again after this pitiful display."

"No, please!" Bluestorm wailed. "I'm sorry, I'm just so knew to this whole mentoring thing! I'm doing the best I can!"

"She needs better than that! She needs a warrior who will trust her and give her the attention and guidance she deserves."

Hopelessness darkened Bluestorm's expression and he hung his head. "I just want to be a mentor," he murmured sadly.

Beside Heatherpaw, Redheart snorted st the display, glaring at his brother. "Huh! Serves him right." He climbed to his paws and stalked away.

Heatherpaw looked at Bluestorm, her heart seeming to tear at the seams for how bad she felt for him. She never expected to be given a new mentor.

She blinked in surprise at her own thoughts. She found that she did _want_ a new mentor. Sure, she could have some other cat who trusted in her like Fireleap, but she realized just how much she needed Bluestorm as a mentor.

Eyes narrowing and her heart filling with determination, Heatherpaw raced up to Sharpstrike before she or Bluestorm could go far. "Wait! I don't want a new mentor!"

Sharpstrike looked up at Heatherpaw in complete surprise, and she felt Bluestorm's shocked gaze burn the back of her left from behind.

"What do you mean, you don't want a new mentor?" Sharpstrike meowed. "Bluestorm doesn't treat you like he should. You _ran away_ because of him!"

Heatherpaw looked back at Bluestorm to see he was staring at her, but he quickly looked away and back down at his paws. She then looked back up at Sharpstrike. "Yes, it's true that it's very difficult having Bluestorm as a mentor, or just being an EarthClan cat who isn't Clanborn. It's not easy at all, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing.

"I want to be able to prove I'm just as capable of becoming an EarthClan warrior as any other cat, but if I have a mentor who already likes me like Fireleap, I'll never feel as if I've actually _proven_ myself. But with a mentor like Bluestorm, I have a chance to not only prove my worth to the Clan as a whole, but to _him_ as well. I'm always doing my best to impress him with any skills I can obtain, and I won't feel nearly as fulfilled with a mentor who already expects great things from me.

"So please, Sharpstrike," Heatherpaw pleaded. "Give Bluestorm another chance. Give _me_ another chance to prove to him I can be a great warrior."

Sharpstrike looked back up at Bluestorm, who was staring back at Heatherpaw in complete shock, then she nodded at the apprentice. "Very well. I will give Bluestorm one last chance to redeem himself. But if you mess up again, you'll never mentor another cat for as long as you live!" she aggressively warned Bluestorm before walking back to the leader's den, presumably to let Fuzzystar know what had happened.

Heatherpaw let out a content sigh and her shoulders slouched, feeling as if she had just finished battling a fierce enemy. She sensed someone approach her from behind, and she turned to see Bluestorm had walked up to her. His good eye shimmered in surprise and disbelief.

"Why?" His voice was barely anything more than a whisper. "Why did you do that? You could've had a chance to have a better mentor who would take you out of the camp and train you to hunt and fight."

The softness in Bluestorm's meow surprised Heatherpaw. She softly purred reassuringly. "I know what it's like to wish for something with all my heart, only to learn I'll never have it. I wouldn't dream of letting the same happen to you."

Heatherpaw bowed her head respectfully to her mentor. "To be honest, I wasn't the best apprentice, either. I wanted to go outside and to hunt and train to fight, and I let that turn me into an annoying, selfish furball. From now on, I'll do whatever you feel is best without complaint, even if it means spending the rest of my days as an EarthClan cat caring for the elders."

She could still feel Bluestorm staring at her as she walked back over to her rabbit, sitting back down next to it.

"Wow, Heatherpaw," Lizardpaw meowed in surprise as he and Shinepaw walked up to their fellow apprentice. "That was really crazy what you did."

"Crazy?" Heatherpaw echoed.

"Well, no one's ever stood up for Bluestorm before," the young tom explained.

"Yeah, he's always so mean to everyone else!" Shinepaw agreed. "No one likes him enough to help him like that."

"Well, it's not exactly his fault his first apprentice had to be a kittypet," Heatherpaw grunted rather bitterly, staring down at her rabbit. She looked back up at the two young cats. "Do either of you two went to share this with me? I don't think I'll be able to finish it, and I'd hate to have to waste it."

Both apprentices shook their heads. "We already ate while you were gone," Lizardpaw replied.

Heatherpaw nodded her understanding and took another bite out of her rabbit. She had no idea who else she could share it with, but she didn't dare waste such a large piece of prey in the middle of leaf-bare.

"Um, Heatherpaw?"

Heatherpaw nearly choked on her food when she realized who had approached her. Bluestorm looked rather uncomfortable as he stood before her, yet she saw longing in his eye as he gazed at the rabbit. "Could I… Could I take up your offer on wanting to share?"

Beside her, Heatherpaw noticed both Lizardpaw and Shinepaw were staring at Bluestorm in disbelief, their mouths gaped in stunned silence. She herself felt just as surprised, but also happy that her mentor seemed willing to spend some time with her for once. "Of course you can. There's plenty."

"Thanks." The grayish-blue tom settled down next to Heatherpaw in front of the rabbit and, with a bit of an excited purr, he bent down to take a bite.

"Uh, we're gonna go practice some more fighting moves," Lizardpaw meowed awkwardly, beginning to walk away with Shinepaw. "We'll see you later, Heatherpaw."

"Oh, yeah, bye," Heatherpaw murmured absently. It still felt surreal to her that the one cat who had hated her the moment he lay eyes on her was now sharing fresh-kill with her. She blinked curiously at him. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love rabbit," Bluestorm responded after swallowing and licking his lips. "It's sweet, with a hint of an earthy taste."

"That's exactly why I like it," Heatherpaw agreed, letting out a little _mrrow_ of amusement.

The two cats sat and ate in silence, and after a few more mouthfuls Heatherpaw decided to speak. "Why did you want to share with me? All this time since I've joined the Clan you never wanted to share prey with me."

Bluestorm glanced away, and it was clear he felt immense guilt. "I… I'm very sorry for the way I treated you. It was very wrong of me, and completely uncalled for. You've done absolutely nothing wrong, but… I guess after losing my connection with Redheart I've barely cared much about anything, and I could feel nothing but regret and sadness that manifested itself into anger and impatience. Could you ever forgive this old cat?" He glanced hopefully at Heatherpaw.

Without putting much thought into her response, she purred. "I forgive you."

Bluestorm's entire stance seemed to slacken with relief, and he sighed contently with a slow blink. When he opened his eyes again, Heatherpaw could sense a great change in him, almost as if he had instantly turned into a completely different cat. He looked casual and carefree, almost lazy.

"In that case, why don't we start over?" he meowed. "I'm Bluestorm, Bluestorm the blue cat. Not so much of a storm, though, but I can't exactly be called Bluecat, how can I?"

Heatherpaw purred with laughter and arched her eyes. "No, I suppose not. I'm Heatherpaw, nice to meet you."

Bluestorm looked back down at what remained of the rabbit carcass. "You know, you did a really great job hunting today. If it weren't for me, you would've caught that mouse earlier, too." He looked up at her with a playfully sly narrowing of his eyes. "What would you say to a hunting patrol first thing tomorrow? That is if you aren't too busy caring for the elders."

Heatherpaw met Bluestorm's affectionate gaze with one of her own. "I don't know, I'm going to be pretty busy. But I'll try my best to make some time to go outside in the fresh air and contribute to the Clan in more ways than one. Only for you, Bluestorm."


	8. Chapter 6: Mysteries of the Past

Unfamiliar scents wafted around Heatherpaw. She murmured and slowly blinked her eyes open, expecting to find herself in the apprentices' den. Instead, she quickly rose to her paws when she saw herself out in the open. Whipping her head around, Heatherpaw saw she had been sleeping in the snow, a dent in the white frosty ground where she had previously woken from underneath her. She was on a mountaintop, but she couldn't pick up even the faintest trail back to camp.

Worried, Heatherpaw padded up to the edge of the cliff, hoping to find any familiar landmarks she could use to lead her back home. What she saw instead took the apprentice's breath away. Down below the mountain stood a large forest, the trees topped with beautiful leaves. Beyond it Heatherpaw could see a large field with tiny colorful specks where flowers grew, and on the other side of it was a bare plain with very little trees and many rocks jutting out from the ground. On one side of the forest was rather large lake, and the other side was practically right next to the base of the mountain.

What was most confusing was each area of the large land looked vastly different. The forest by the mountain held beautiful leaves of red, orange, yellow, and brown, while the leaves on the other half of the trees by the lake were lush and green. The field was dappled, almost crowded, by the colorful flowers and the bare plain was blanketed with snow and ice.

Somehow, this mysterious land was simultaneously going through all four seasons: leaf-fall, greenleaf, newleaf, and leaf-bare, respectively.

Heatherpaw continued to stare out from the mountaintop in awe, her mouth gaping and her eyes wide. How was an impossible phenomenon like this even possible? How could one piece of land undergo all four seasons all at once? Surely if parts of the forest were colored with gradually dying leaves, the other half would be doing the same, or the frost of the snowy plain would've frostbitten and killed the floral moor right next to it.

Without much thought, Heatherpaw took one step forward, then another, and before long she broke into a run down the mountainside. She couldn't explain it, but she found she was somehow drawn to this unique land. Her paws itched with the need to explore and try to make sense as to why four seasons were occurring all at once here.

Despite being so high up on the mountain, it didn't take Heatherpaw long at all to reach the bottom. She stared up into the colorful trees, standing in the leaf-fall section of the territory. Dead and decaying leaves crunched beneath her paws as she padded through.

She skirted through the trees towards the leaf-bare plain. The fallen leaves and snowy blanket seemed to make an abrupt border between forest and moor, too even and neat to be natural. She padded into the snow and made her way to a large clearing. Beyond the supernatural territory stood a large wooden den, the roof and walls broken down. She came to the conclusion that it was an abandoned Twoleg nest. Tilting her head to the side, she contemplated exploring the old den or venturing into the flowery field instead.

Before Heatherpaw could make a decision, the sky darkened rapidly, and she looked up to see the once clear blue sky was suddenly hidden by thick storm clouds. Lightning crackled up above, illuminating everything around her, and before long it began to rain.

Heatherpaw wrinkled her nose and gagged at the foul, sour scent the rain carried. It didn't smell even close to normal sky water. She felt her fur sag and mat to her skin, heavy and thick, and the strange rain felt unnaturally warm.

Confusion and fear tightened Heatherpaw's throat as she struggled to breathe through the sickening stench, and she saw the sticky water began to pool underneath her, making it impossible to lift up her paws and walk through. It wasn't even the same color as regular water. Instead, it was dark and red.

With a sense of dread, Heatherpaw concluded that the sky wasn't raining water. It was raining _blood_.

The apprentice panted heavily as the river of blood grew thicker and deeper, beginning to swamp and soak through her legs. She gagged at the horrible stench and struggled to swim through the thick substance, but it seemed her paws had sunken underneath the earth itself, making it impossible to maneuver through to safety.

A sudden screech in the distance harshly startled Heatherpaw, and her breath quickened as more and more yowls and wails began to sound all around her, ringing through the air and seeming to echo and bounce off each other until they grew too loud for her to handle much longer.

Through the darkness of the blackened storm clouds and bloody rain, two bright yellow eyes slid open and stared through, piercing Heatherpaw and chilling her to her very core. She heavily trembled as if very cold despite the disgusting warmth of the blood seeming to drag her down into the ever-growing river that had now risen up to her chest. The eyes were expressionless as they stared, but Heatherpaw still couldn't shake a sense of foreboding.

All of a sudden, a black shape launched out from the darkness at Heatherpaw, its eyes gleaming with hatred, and Heatherpaw let out a strangled cry as she felt horrible pressure against her throat where sharp teeth met blood-soaked fur and flesh.

She thrashed aimlessly as she struggled to gasp in air, her eyes shutting tight when all she could take into her lungs was the rancid stench of blood, and with a wail her eyes flung open again, wide with fear.

Heatherpaw rapidly sat up, gasping and coughing and trembling all over, her fur fluffed out in terror. It took her several moments for her new location to finally register. She was sitting in a nest lined with moss in the apprentices' den. Shinepaw and Lizardpaw slept in their own nests next to hers, and one of Lizardpaw's hind legs was sticking out into Heatherpaw's nest. His paw must have pressed against her throat in his sleep.

 _Oh, thank StarClan, it was all just a dream,_ she thought, feeling weak with relief. The dream felt so vivid and real, and the horrid stench of blood was still caught in her nose, which sent a chill down her spine. Did the dream even have any meaning to it? What could it ever mean if it did?

"Heatherpaw!" A meow from outside the den jolted Heatherpaw out of her thoughts, and she let out a yelp as she stared at the mouth of the cave. She saw her mentor Bluestorm blinking at her.

 _Oh, no! Did I oversleep? Oh, he must be so mad!_ Fear shot through her once again as she scrambled to her feet and nearly tripped over Lizardpaw's leg to run outside. Specks of moss still clung to her pelt.

"Hey, uh, you okay there, kit?" Bluestorm asked, his one good eye wide with concern. "You look as if you've just seen a ghost."

Heatherpaw looked up at her mentor in clouded confusion. Wasn't Bluestorm mad at her for oversleeping? The events from the night before rushed back to her just then. She had saved Bluestorm from losing his very first - and quite possibly his last - apprentice when she confronted the Clan deputy Sharpstrike, and now she and her mentor were on far better terms.

The apprentice shook out her fur, the moss flying off her side. She gave her chest a few licks to flatten her fur. "S-Sorry. I had a bad dream, that's all."

"It happens to all of us," Bluestorm empathized. He slid his tail comforting down Heatherpaw's spine, flattening her fur back down. "Perhaps a good ol' hunting patrol will take your mind off it."

 _That's right! The hunting patrol!_ Bluestorm had promised to take her out on her very first hunting patrol and properly teach her how to hunt and catch prey. Her dream immediately forgotten, Heatherpaw gave herself another quick shake and bounded down the ledges to the cave floor. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Bluestorm walked down after his apprentice as Sharpstrike approached the apprentices' den. She gave a nod of greeting to the already awoken apprentice and her mentor. "You two are joining the hunting patrol this morning, right?"

"That's right, and I'm so excited to finally learn how to properly hunt," Heatherpaw replied enthusiastically.

"Well, better late than never I suppose," the deputy grunted with a rather harsh glare at Bluestorm as she passed. The tom's shoulders and tail drooped.

Frowning, Heatherpaw walked up to her mentor and placed her nose on his shoulder respectively. "Hey, don't worry. Sharpstrike won't be angry forever."

"I suppose you're right. It's just, I still feel awful about the way I treated you," Bluestorm sighed heavily. "I'll still do my very best to make up for my past mistakes. I just hope it isn't too late."

"Of course it isn't," Heatherpaw reassured with a soft purr. "You still have plenty of time to teach me all I need to know to become a true EarthClan warrior."

Little rocks crumbled loose and tumbled down the wall of the camp as Sharpstrike climbed back down with Shinepaw behind her, who was still yawning from being just woken up. Heatherpaw purred her empathy to her denmate; now that the events of the dream were wearing off, she was beginning to feel tired and sleepy herself. She yawned as she followed her mentor out of camp.

The open world was chilling and piercing Heatherpaw's skin through her short fur, and she shivered. She tried not to show too much discomfort, however, as Webpounce had also joined the patrol, and she knew that she and Flashfall still felt indifferently about her.

After traveling several tail-lengths down the mountain, Sharpstrike halted and rose her tail to get every cat's attention. She turned to Heatherpaw and Shinepaw. "This is a good place to begin your practice scenting prey. Can you detect anything?"

"She wouldn't be able to make out the scent of mouse bile if it were plastered to her nose," Webpounce taunted, her whiskers twitching in crude amusement.

Both Heatherpaw and Sharpstrike opened their mouths to retort, but to everyone's surprise it was Bluestorm who spoke first. "Heatherpaw's nose is just as strong as any other cat's. You'd better think twice next time before insulting _my_ apprentice, or you'll be sorry."

Heatherpaw saw shock shining in the warrior's eyes as the cat who once shared her opinion on the sandy-colored she-cat was now the first cat to defend her. Heatherpaw herself was just as surprised, but not at all disappointed.

Satisfied, Bluestorm looked back to Heatherpaw and gave her an encouraging nod. "Go on. What can you smell?"

Blinking gratefully, Heatherpaw joined Shinepaw in closing her eyes and parting her mouth to drink in the frosty scents around her. Unfortunately, that was all she could detect. She gave Bluestorm an apologetic look. "I can't smell anything." She glared at Webpounce when she snorted and sneered at her.

Sharpstrike tasted the air as well and nodded. "She's right. Stop looking at her like that, Webpounce. Let's continue further down and see if we can find anything there."

Webpounce gave a grumpy twitch of her tail and followed the deputy, Bluestorm and the apprentices not too far behind.

After a few moments of walking and occasionally pausing to smell the air, Heatherpaw finally detected a scent that stood out like a cherry blossom in a mud puddle. "Mouse!"

Bluestorm stopped to scent the air and nodded approvingly. "Good job, Heatherpaw." He turned his head to look at small patch of grass growing through the cracks in the ground, and a tiny furry body was seen nibbling at the stalks. "See if you can catch it."

"We'll go on up ahead and see if we can find anything else," Sharpstrike meowed softly before she, Shinepaw, and Webpounce slipped away.

Heatherpaw nodded eagerly and dropped into a hunter's crouch. She slipped through the snow as slowly as she could, but all of a sudden the mouse whipped its head up and stared directly at her. With a squeal, it dived into a tiny burrow in the snow.

Heatherpaw, panicked, pounced at it, but she was too late. The mouse had disappeared, and all she was able to achieve was getting snow all over her fur. "Mouse dung," she cursed with a lash of her tail. She looked up nervously at her mentor, expecting to see him glaring at her disapprovingly.

To her relief - and embarrassment - his good eye glistened with amusement. "I don't recall covering oneself in snow to be a very crafty hunting tactic."

Heatherpaw shook out her fur, sending snow flying everywhere. She stared down at her paws in disappointment. "I don't understand. I made sure I stayed downwind of it."

"Yes, but how lightly did you put down your paws?"

Heatherpaw blinked in confusion. "Huh? Uh, I wasn't really paying attention."

Bluestorm sighed in disappointment and shook his head. At first the apprentice was afraid she had truly done something wrong, but she was proven wrong when he heard himself mutter, "I should've taught her this by now. Bluestorm, you're a terrible mentor."

Heatherpaw tried to find the words she wanted to say, but she didn't get the chance as her mentor approached her, blinking patiently. "You see, different prey detect different things when we stalk. While rabbits depend on smell and sound, mice depend on the ground beneath them. They'll be able to _feel_ a cat approaching before they ever smell him."

Heatherpaw blinked in amazement. "So when I hunt mice, I need to be sure to step as lightly as I can?"

"That's right," he nodded. "And try to control your breathing and heart rate as well. An excited warrior will most likely miss his prey because they'll detect heavy breathing or rapid heart pulses."

Heatherpaw nodded in understanding. "I get it. I'll be sure to be more careful and aware next time I find a mouse."

"For the time being, why don't you go ahead and perfect that crouch of yours?" Bluestorm meowed before his apprentice could wander off.

The sandy-colored apprentice obeyed, crouching down low to the snow-covered stone, lifting her belly and tail up from the snow so they wouldn't drag.

"Lower your tail a little, it doesn't need to be _that_ high up above the ground," Bluestorm instructed. "Keep your senses sharp. Concentrate on more than just the prey you're hunting. Focus on your movement and breathing and everything around you. You never know, there may be a fox or dog or enemy cat lurking by."

Heatherpaw narrowed her eyes in concentration as she stared at a small stone laying in the snow a few tail-lengths away. She crept slowly towards it, keeping her ears pricked. They tilted towards the stone, but she was also careful to focus on the sounds around her.

All of a sudden, she heard the snow next to her ruffle, and she was able to leap back just in time to see Bluestorm had suddenly charged at her, swiping out a sheathed paw at her muzzle, missing her nose by a whisker. She stared wide-eyed at him, still shaken by the massive startle, and she narrowed her eyes grouchily at him when his whiskers began to twitch with laughter.

"Hey, good job keeping your senses alert, kit," he purred. "Alright, go ahead and finish stalking that stone over there."

The apprentice took a few moments to slow her rapidly beating heart with deep breaths. She lowered herself back down and resumed stalking. Satisfied with the distance she had made between herself and the stone, she waggled her haunches before pouncing at it, scooping the stone up in her paw and flinging it high into the air. It landed with a muffled thump in the snow, and Heatherpaw quickly lashed out a paw to pin it as she bent down to give it a quick nip.

"Very good!" Bluestorm praised with a pleased swish of his tail. "That was very good what you did, flicking the stone into the air. That would have stunned a mouse or shrew long enough for you to deal the killing blow."

Heatherpaw dropped the stone back into the snow and purred sheepishly. She felt a thrill of joy build up within her at her mentor's feedback and critiques. _He's like a completely different cat, and I'm not at all disappointed._

"Now," Bluestorm meowed, lowering a paw to the stone. "Pretend your prey is heading towards the stream. Find a way to stop it before it can reach the water." With a hard thwack, he knocked his paw into the rock and sent it hurtling downhill towards the stream below.

Immediately Heatherpaw broke into a sprint down the mountain. She pushed her paws hard against the large stones underneath the snow, but she found she still wasn't going to be able to reach the stone before it reached the stream. _Snow, that's it!_ She leaped up high into the air and angled her paws in a way that when she landed, she would be able to loosen up the snow on the ground and send it flying towards the stone. As expected, the white clumps of frost showered over and buried the stone, stopping it in its tracks. Heatherpaw was able to stride the rest of the way down to it and dug it out with her muzzle. She panted heavily as she turned back to her mentor, who bounded down to her, her face covered with snow.

Bluestorm's eyes shone with surprise and delight, clearly impressed. "I never thought of using the snow to bury the prey to buy myself more time to catch up to it! That was very clever, Heatherpaw." He let out a sudden loud _mrrow_ of laughter. "Your face is so white! You look almost just like Redheart!"

Heatherpaw purred with laughter and she shook the snow off her face, dropping the stone back down. The purr quickly ceased as she recalled her mentor's quarrel with his brother. Since he was much kinder and more understanding now, she figured perhaps it wouldn't hurt to ask. "Bluestorm, could I ask you something?"

"What's up, kit?"

"I was just wondering... Why are you and Redheart so distant from each other?"

The laughter in Bluestorm's good eye died, and his gaze became expressionless, probably so that his apprentice couldn't try to guess what he was feeling. Before she could thoroughly search, he gave a nonchalant shrug. "I guess over the years he and I lost touch."

Heatherpaw narrowed her eyes at the tom. "Are you sure that's the case? I don't know if you two would be fighting this much if it were just that."

"Well, cats change as they grow up. It doesn't matter anyway, we're supposed to be hunting." Bluestorm bounded off, looking over his shoulder to call out to her. "Come on, let's see if we can find another rabbit."

Heatherpaw reluctantly followed, keeping up the pace to ensure she wouldn't fall behind. But she was only half-focused on the hunt. She _knew_ there was more to Bluestorm's and Redheart's falling out than just simply losing touch - they lived together in the same camp and slept in the same den! With StarClan as her witness, she was going to find out what caused the two brothers to drift apart if it was the last thing she would do as a cat of EarthClan.

* * *

By the time the hunting patrol returned to camp, Heatherpaw had made up for her loss with a new mouse she expertly caught, the limp warm body dangling from her jaws. Considering it was still the middle of leaf-bare, the patrol hadn't caught much, Webpounce clutching a shrew and Bluestorm carrying a scrawny snow hare.

The cats deposited their catch on the miserably low fresh-kill pile, but Heatherpaw kept her mouse. She placed it down so she could speak without muffling through brown fur. "Bluestorm, could I bring this to Dewcloud?"

Bluestorm nodded approvingly. "Good idea. Then you can bring this snow hare to the elders." He gave a frustrated twitch of his tail as he stared down at the snow hare and shrew. "I'll ask Sharpstrike if I can join another hunting patrol later on. The Clan needs much more than this."

Heatherpaw picked the mouse back up and padded across the clearing to the medicine den. While she did want to bring the medicine cat something to eat, she also wanted to ask her a question. She had recalled Shellpelt and Darkflame mentioning the medicine cat before her, Blackheart, and how his sudden disappearance had caused Bluestorm and Redheart to drift apart. She knew that Blackheart's successor just may have the answers she sought.

She mewed into the cave before inviting herself in, and she blinked in alarm to find Lizardpaw lying shivering in a mossy nest. His short tabby fur was plastered to his skin.

"What happened?" Heatherpaw asked, approaching her denmate and grooming his ears, hoping to warm him up a little.

"I was chasing a water vole along the stream bank and lost my balance over the edge," the three-legged apprentice replied, purring his gratitude to Heatherpaw. "I lost the vole and fell into the stream."

Heatherpaw could tell he was trying to fluff up his fur to protect himself from the cold, and she murmured her sympathy. "I remember the first time I fell into the stream. It's no fun. But I'm sure Dewcloud will be able to help you get better."

"The w-water's easy, he just n-needs to dry off," Dewcloud meowed as she approached the soaked cat, carrying large, fuzzy leaves in her mouth. She placed the herbs down on the floor. "The real problem is p-preventing fever."

"Didn't you use feverfew for Fireleap when he hit his head a while back?"

"I used the last of it for Shellpelt's m-migraine two days ago." Dewcloud sighed. "I w-wish we had better a-access to herbs up here."

"I'm sorry, Dewcloud, I didn't mean to fall in the stream," Lizardpaw apologized shamefully, staring down at his forepaw.

Dewcloud purred softly and gave his forehead a reassuring lick. "Don't worry, it h-happens to all of us. Now, g-go ahead and eat these h-here." She pushed the leaves up to the apprentice. "These are lamb's ears. They m-may not prevent fever in the s-same way feverfew can, but they'll give you s-strength to fight it off if it sneaks up on y-you."

Lizardpaw obediently licked the leaves up and chewed, screwing up his face in disgust. "Oh, gross! This is horrible!"

"If I had any access to proper s-soil, I would make herbworm out of these leaves to make it t-tastier. Well, I've n-never tried it myself, but my former m-mentor told me it tastes better than p-plain herbs."

"That's actually what I want to talk to you about, Dewcloud," Heatherpaw suddenly meowed, catching the medicine cat by surprise. Embarrassed by her outburst, she gently pushed the mouse forward with a par. "Um, I also brought you something to eat."

"Let me finish up with Lizardpaw, th-then we can talk." Dewcloud turned her attention back to the soaked apprentice and began pawing moss over his back to warm him up. Once she finished, she nodded to Dewcloud and walked to the back of the cave where her own mossy nest lay. Heatherpaw followed with the mouse.

"Now, then," Dewcloud mewed, sitting down in her nest and accepting the mouse. She took a large bite out of it and swallowed it after chewing. "You said you w-want to ask me something about my mentor?"

"Yes," the apprentice nodded. "The elders told me how Bluestorm and Redheart were friends until your mentor disappeared out of nowhere. Do you know what happened, or where he went?"

Dewcloud softly sighed and gulped down another mouthful of mouse. "Unfortunately, I d-don't know where he went or why. All I kn-know is he left as soon as I f-finished my training and earned my m-medicine cat name. Blackheart - that was his name - was a very talented medicine cat and l-loved him all of his Clan, and he loved each cat as if they were his sons and daughters, j-just as I do."

"I just wonder why Blackheart would leave if the Clan valued his talents so much," Heatherpaw wondered.

"I th-thought the same thing," the medicine cat admitted. "P-Perhaps it was because of what h-happened after he tried taking Bluestorm as his a-apprentice."

Heatherpaw blinked in surprise. "Bluestorm trained to become a medicine cat?"

"It was a-after he fell during one of his apprentice assessments and i-injured his eye on a rock jutting out of the snow. Blackheart kn-knew he couldn't save his eye and th-thought he would never become a w-warrior, despite Sharpstrike being Clan deputy with only one eye herself."

Heatherpaw tilted her head curiously. "If Sharpstrike could be deputy, what made Blackheart think Bluestorm couldn't be a warrior?"

Dewcloud shook her head. "I'm n-not sure. Then again, he was a-always quite fond of him and R-Redheart. Perhaps he was just w-worried or something." She finished her mouse and stood up to stretch. "I'm s-sorry, Heatherpaw, but that's all I know. Perhaps the elders would kn-know more. After all, Darkflame is Bluestorm's m-mother."

"Alright. Thank you very much, Dewcloud." Heatherpaw backed out of the cave, wishing Lizardpaw a speedy recovery on the way out, and bounded back up to the fresh-kill pile. She knew she needed an excuse to visit the elders again so she wouldn't be accused of gossiping.

Unfortunately, the rabbit and shrew were gone, and she remembered suddenly that Bluestorm had already brought them something to eat. Backtracking, she headed back to the medicine den, only to be stopped by Webpounce when she crossed her path.

"Didn't you just come out of the medicine den?" the warrior asked with a suspicious narrowing of her eyes.

Heatherpaw knew she needed to show the warrior respect despite how much they disliked each other. "I had brought Dewcloud some fresh-kill and visited Lizardpaw, and now I going back to ask for mouse bile so I can check the elders for ticks."

"Yes, you've grown quite good at tending for the elders, haven't you?" Webpounce taunted, her whiskers twitching. She noticed Heatherpaw trying to walk around her, but she leaped in her way. "I didn't say you could _go_."

"You're not my mentor!" Heatherpaw hissed. "Let me go!"

"Not until I check with Bluestorm that he really did send you."

"He's on another hunting patrol."

"Then I suppose you can't go until he comes back so I can ask him."

 _Why do you have to make my life so_ difficult? Heatherpaw yowled in her head, glaring at her.

To her relief, she saw Fireleap passing by and called out to him. "Fireleap! Tell Webpounce to let me go to the medicine den."

Fireleap stopped to look over, then glared at his mate. "Why are you blocking her way."

"I just wanted to make sure Bluestorm had told her to tend to the elders," she replied innocently. "I don't want Heatherpaw slacking off and get herself into any trouble, that's all."

"Webpounce, let Bluestorm worry about her. _You_ worry about our kits."

 _Kits?_ Heatherpaw peered at the she-cat's belly and saw a slight bulge. _Webpounce is expecting more kits!_

Webpounce huffed in irritation and stepped to the side to let Heatherpaw pass. Blinking her thanks to Fireleap, the apprentice bounded to the medicine den again. Once she received a stick with the stinky bile-soaked moss on its tip, she made her way to the elders' den.

Shellpelt was the first to detect Heatherpaw's arrival. "Come on in, Heatherpaw."

Heatherpaw squeezed her way in and saw that the elders were still eating the rabbit Bluestorm had given them earlier. "Oh, sorry," Heatherpaw mumbled around the stick. "I didn't know you were still eating."

"That's okay, you can do our ticks later. Thank you, Heatherpaw." Darkflame blinked affectionately at her.

The apprentice placed the stick down outside the den and nestled down before the two elders. "Well, while I'm here, I've been meaning to ask you two if you could tell me a little about Blackheart, the medicine cat before Dewcloud."

The two elders exchanged surprised glances. Then Darkflame shuffled her forepaws under her chest. "Very well, then. What do you already know?"

"Well, Dewcloud told me he was a very talented medicine cat for starters."

"That he was," the elderly she-cat rasped. "He was a gifted medicine cat right from the start as a kit. He was very intelligent and wise for his age. As a matter of fact, since living in the mountain he had discovered that the juices of the leaves from the wintergreen bushes heal wounds more effectively that the berries. He was so very clever."

"He sounds it," Heatherpaw agreed. "I was also told that he was very close to every cat in the Clan, but especially Bluestorm and Redheart." She saw alarm flash in Darkflame's eyes and she tilted her head in confusion. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Darkflame replied. "I just… can't help but remember when Bluestorm and Redheart were so close as kits and apprentices during the time Blackheart was in the Clan."

"That brings me to the question, actually: _why_ did Blackheart leave?"

Sadness clouded the elder's eyes. "I... I don't know. He never told me. I don't know if he told anyone. Well, perhaps he told Fireleap; the two of them were best friends and shared everything with each other."

 _Bluestorm's and Redheart's foster father!_ Heatherpaw recalled the time Fireleap had mentioned to Darkflame how he was so proud of the two brothers, claiming how he couldn't have loved them more if he were their real father. Perhaps Fireleap could tell her why Blackheart left, if he was the only cat the former medicine cat told. "Thank you very much for your help, Darkflame."

"Why are you so curious about Blackheart anyhow?" Shellpelt questioned. "The Clan knows how remarkable a cat he was, but you've never shown such interest in him before."

"Well... I feel that if I can get to the bottom of why Blackheart's departure ruined Bluestorm's and Redheart's relationship, I can find a way to fix it."

"We certainly hope you can find a way to help," Darkflame rasped. She finished the last bite of rabbit and licked her lips, then flicked her ear. "Before you go do that, though, you can get this nasty tick off my ear. StarClan knows how these little things survive so far up in the mountain."


End file.
